A Witch in the Family
by ANGSWIN
Summary: Sherlock's unusual and intriguing friend, Hermione, comes to John's aid when strange things start happening around his young daughter.
1. Strange Happenings

While John waited for Sherlock to arrive, he sighed heavily as he watched his daughter play innocently with her toys on the floor. Even though it had been over two years since her death, it was at times like these that he really missed Mary. She had been taken from both him and Rosie way too soon. Mary was also very intuitive and her _unusual_ background and skill set might have helped her to understand exactly what was going on with their daughter. John knew that he certainly could not figure what was happening!

* * *

It had all started several weeks earlier when Rosie did not want to eat her dinner. She had fussed and whinged until John had to leave the room for just a moment to regain his composure. Being a single father was difficult and although he loved his daughter dearly, she was quite headstrong – just like her mother had been! However, he did not want to lose his temper with her. That was why he walked away. After a couple of deep breaths, however, he was back, and completely unsurprised to see that Rosie's dinner now decorated the wall. However, what did alarm him was that said wall was twelve feet away from her chair and that the food splatter had formed a very distinctive frowny face. He rationalized that his three year old daughter must have walked over there and purposely smeared her food into that shape before coming back to the table. _Really, what else could have happened?_ he thought to himself, carefully ignoring the fact that the pattern was too high up on the wall for Rosie to reach.

The next instance was during bedtime about a week later. John had tucked Rosie into bed and read her a bedtime story. Afterwards, however, she insisted on sleeping with her stuffed bunny. John remembered that he had seen it on the sofa right before they came up the stairs. Therefore, he went back down to collect it for her. To his surprise, though, it was not there! He searched the entire first floor for it before he finally just selected a stuffed elephant and hoped that his daughter would be content with that. When he took it up to her, however, she was already fast asleep and cuddled up with the same stuffed bunny for which he had just been searching! John felt uneasy about it, but eventually determined that she must have just slipped back down the stairs, found the bunny, and then climbed back up to bed without him noticing. _Yes, that must have been what happened!_ he thought, as he tried to be calm and rational about the situation.

Over the next few weeks, he noticed other odd occurrences around his daughter. One afternoon, John found Rosie munching on her favorite biscuits, even though they had been stored on a shelf in the pantry that was way too high for her to reach – even with a chair. One morning, they arrived at the park after a short walk only for John to realize that Rosie was wearing a purple dress. However, he could have sworn that it was pink when they had left the house. Incidents like these certainly were confusing. Nevertheless, John deemed them harmless enough as he continued to try and to ignore the feelings of increasing anxiety that rose up within him at every new situation.

However, matters came to a head the morning that John went to wake up his daughter and she was not in her bed. He tore through the house and frantically called her name, but she was nowhere to be seen. He immediately grabbed the phone to call Greg Lestrade, but first decided to check one more place first. Therefore, he unlocked the back door and scanned the small fenced garden area…and there she was! Rosie sat on the ground and was happily engaged with petting the neighborhood cats that all sat around her in a perfect circle. With a cry of relief, John scooped up his daughter and, without sparing even a glance at the cats that glared at him disdainfully, carried her straight to his surgery. There he performed every test that he could think of on his little girl. _Something_ had to be the cause of all of these strange happenings and John, the doctor, thought that if it had a medical root, then he could cure it. However, all of the tests came back negative. There was nothing medically wrong with her, at all. In fact, Rosie was an extremely healthy child.

By this point, John was at his wits end. He was confused, scared, and could no longer ignore the unexplainable things that frequently happened around his daughter. He needed help. Rosie's strange behavior was a mystery. Therefore, he finally called the one man who loved mysteries and had solved stranger cases than this one before…his best friend, Sherlock Holmes.

* * *

Sherlock arrived at the Watson home quickly and scooped up his goddaughter. She laughed at her "Unk Shuluk" while he made silly faces at her. Despite his stress, John…as always…was amazed at how truly different the detective was with the small child than he was with anyone else. With her, the usually standoffish man always seemed more carefree…more _normal_. As if to prove the point, Sherlock continued to play with the little girl for a few minutes before he set her down and watched her happily toddle off. He then turned to her worried father and completely surprised him with his next sentence.

"So…you have _finally_ observed that our Rosie is a bit different, have you?"

At first, John was infuriated when Sherlock told him that he had known for _months_ that Rosie could make strange things happen. However, he soon calmed down when he realized that Sherlock did not seem perturbed at all. Whatever was wrong must not be dangerous to his daughter because he knew without a doubt that Sherlock loved Rosie almost as much as he did. The man would never let anything happen to her…and that was why he had been named godfather. However, Sherlock would not answer John's questions, either, which quickly caused his frustration to return.

"Bloody hell, Sherlock, just tell me what is going on with my daughter!" John finally forced out between his gritted teeth.

"Believe it or not, I don't think that I am the most qualified person to explain it to you." Sherlock said. "I have many strengths, but alas, Rosie's issue is the one area in which I cannot excel." He then paused for a moment and looked over at John smugly. John knew that "I know something that you do not know" look very well. He had often seen it on his best mate's face. Before he had long to ponder that though, the detective continued to speak. "However," he said, "fortunately for you, I know just the person who does." With that mysterious reply, he pulled out his mobile and quickly speed dialed a number. After a moment, a female voice answered. She did not get to say much more than "Hello?" before Sherlock began to speak again.

"It's my goddaughter," he said simply. "You were correct. Her father has noticed…and he is a bit…emotional."

"I will be right there," the voice said. "What's the address?" Sherlock gave her the street name and number before he disconnected the call and pocketed the phone. He then looked at John expectantly.

"Sherlock," John said quietly, as he tried not to lose his temper with his best friend. "Who the hell was that? What does she have to do with Rosie?" Sherlock, however did not answer. He just gave him an enigmatic smile and held up a finger in the silent gesture to wait a moment. Just then, a knock came at the door and a wide smile crossed Sherlock's face.

"That would be her," he said and went to open the door to let in the visitor. "Hermione," he cordially greeted the woman who stood on the stoop. "Welcome!"

"Hello, Sherlock," she replied cheerfully with an answering grin. "I'm sorry that it took me so long, but I wasn't familiar with the street, so I had to stop and look for the right house number." The young woman stepped in, quickly surveyed the room, and smiled brightly again when her gaze landed on John. "Hello," she greeted him warmly. "You must be Rosie's father. Sherlock has told me a lot about the two of you. I'm Hermione Granger."

At first, John could do nothing but look at the new arrival in shock. Sherlock had called her just a moment ago, and yet she was already in his house! How could she have possibly gotten there so quickly? He looked at the mysterious woman closely and guessed that she was about ten years or so his junior. He also could not help but to notice that she was quite pretty. Her loose lively brown hair drew his eyes immediately, but then they were captured by her warm amber eyes which practically sparkled with personality, and her beautiful beaming smile, instead. For some reason, he almost stopped breathing for a minute and could not help but to stare at her until he heard Sherlock clear his throat with amusement. Suddenly, John remembered where he was and why she was there. He forced himself to stop thinking about how attractive the woman was and instead focused on what really mattered... Rosie.

"Ms. Granger, can you please tell me what is wrong with my daughter?" he pleaded, as his confusion showed clearly on his face.

"Please call me Hermione," she replied gently, "and I am sure that there is absolutely nothing _wrong_ with your daughter, at all. May I see her first, though… please?"

John glanced at Sherlock to see how he responded to such a request and felt reassured again when the detective nodded in easy acquiescence. Consequently, John gestured for Hermione to precede him into the lounge and kitchen area where Rosie had been playing while they talked. Sherlock followed behind them.

As they crossed into the other room, however, John's eyes drifted downwards and he could not help but to notice how nicely Hermione filled out her jeans as he walked behind her - until he realized that Sherlock was watching him again with that damnable smirk upon his face. That brought his attention back to where it should have been all along and he watched intently as the newcomer sat down unceremoniously on the floor next to his daughter and started to play with her.

The next thing he knew, Hermione had asked Rosie about her favorite toy - which he knew was the giant stuffed lion up in her room. It was bigger than she was, so that was why it always stayed upstairs. All of a sudden though he blinked in confusion when he realized that same giant stuffed lion was in the room with them! Nobody had left the room to get it, yet there it was! Startled, he looked up into Hermione's kind and knowing eyes as she nodded at him and Sherlock before she focused back on her conversation with Rosie again. John looked over at Sherlock, as well, and the questions were clear in his eyes.

"What in the bloody hell is going on?" he whispered in disbelief.

"It's elementary, my dear Watson," the other man answered just as quietly. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"But…it can't be…" John stammered a bit.

"You were right, as usual, you know." John looked up at the sound of her voice as Hermione rejoined the men since Rosie was happily engaged with bouncing up and down on her lion. The woman walked over to Sherlock and bumped his shoulder with hers in a friendly way as he smirked at her. Even through the shock of what he had just seen and realized, John still wondered how the two of them knew each other and how they had achieved such a comfortable camaraderie.

 _To be sure they aren't_ …he shook his head at the bewildering jolt of jealousy that shot through him at the mere thought. In a moment, however, that thought was replaced with one just as confusing as he stared wonderingly at the thin carved wooden stick that the woman had somehow pulled out of her sleeve. At any rate, he did not know how to feel about what he was sure she was about to say, not even when she gently took his hand and looked him straight in the eye.

"It really _is_ accidental magic!" she stated. Then she smiled widely as she exclaimed happily, "Congratulations! You have a witch in the family!"

For his part, John sat there stunned at the pronouncement and found that he could not make a sound. However, Hermione seemed to expect his reaction and proceeded to perform some charms and spells for him to see in order to help ease his disbelief. First, she revived the dying flowers on the mantle, then she levitated a stack of Rosie's books off of the table and had them place themselves back in the bookcase. Next, much to Rosie's delight, she made the stuffed lion jump up and dance on his hind legs. Then to finish off the demonstration, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and transformed into a sea otter. The little otter squeaked, ran over to John and begged to be picked up. The man did so, somewhat nervously, but he still ran his hand over the otter's fur and scratched it under its chin. He smelled the slightly briny smell of the sea on it and felt its rapid heartbeat against the arm where he held it. Therefore, he had no doubt that the animal was real. As if to prove the that point, little otter stood up and gently touched its nose to his. Then it looked pointedly at the ground. John realized what it wanted and sat it down. In just a few seconds, Hermione stood in its place.

"Well…the otter thing is new," Sherlock remarked dryly, after her display was over.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't a skill I had acquired yet when we were in Bulgaria." Hermione said absentmindedly while she smoothed her clothing since they tended to get a bit wrinkled during a transformation. "I just received my full animagus status about a year ago."

"You didn't think to tell me…or show me?" the man sulked – mainly because he had been unable to deduce that she had such an ability.

"You didn't ask!" she snarked back before she turned to John in order to bestow that charming smile on him again. "I'm so sorry, John. However, I'm sure that you of all people know how much Sherlock hates not knowing about something…and they called _me_ an insufferable know-it-all back in school."

When Sherlock had the nerve to laugh at that, she poked him in the chest with her index finger. "Hush it, you!" she exclaimed. Even John, in the midst of all the shock and surprise, had to crack a smile at the verbal scrimmage between his best friend and the fascinating woman whom he had just met – the one who was also apparently a _witch!_


	2. Explanations

After the initial surprise, Hermione continued to try and get John comfortable in the presence of magic. She summoned a loaded tea tray from the stocks in his pantry as she explained that even though magic could do a lot of wonderful things, it still had its limitations – such as Gamp's Law. Then, while they sipped their tea and nibbled their biscuits, the witch surreptitiously watched the man until it was clear that the shock had slowly began to wear off for him. After her own snack, Rosie also came over and chose to crawl in Hermione's lap – much to the bemusement of her father and the displeasure of her godfather who wanted the little girl for himself. John had even recovered enough to laugh heartily when Hermione stuck her tongue out at Sherlock in a neener-neener kind of way.

 _She's certainly a cheeky one_ , he thought. Out of all of the surprises that the day had brought, one of the most impressive ones had been that Hermione could get the usually distant and unsocial detective to relax so much. That made John wonder, yet again, exactly how well they knew each other. He also could not help but to wonder why he felt a bit uneasy about their relationship.

* * *

Over their second cuppa, Hermione answered John's most pressing questions about where Rosie's magic came from and what would happen next. First, she explained to him about the Pureblood and Halfblood magic users. Then, she clarified how both she and Rosie fit into the grand scheme of things. She spoke about it passionately and it was obviously a topic close to her heart.

"The witches and wizards in the third category are known as Muggleborns. The Muggleborns are first generation magic users who come from families who usually had no previous knowledge that magic even existed, much less that somebody in their gene pool could actually use it! There may have been some magical ancestors somewhere down the line on one side or the other of these families, but they are generally so distant that nobody knows about them. However, despite the lack of magical ancestry, or perhaps even because of it, Muggleborns can be just as powerful, or even more so, than their Pure and Halfblood contemporaries. In fact, they don't call me the Brightest Witch of my Age for nothing, you know!" Here she winked and then laughed merrily at John's surprised look and Sherlock's typical little snort of derision.

She muffled the laugh quickly, however, as the toddler in her arms snuggled down deeper. After smiling fondly at the tot (a sight that warmed John's heart in a completely unexpected way), she then proceeded to tell him all about Hogwarts and the letter that he could expect once Rosie turned eleven. The discussion about Platform 9 ¾ was interrupted, however, by a loud yawn from the little girl. She was apparently ready for a nap since her belly was full and she was warm and comfortable. Therefore, Hermione put down her teacup, which John had just refilled for her, and shifted the little one into a more comfortable position. Both of the men then watched as she bounced the child lightly while patting her bottom at the same time. In no time at all, Rosie was asleep.

"You're very good with her." John remarked with a little bit of surprise, as he watched his daughter fell asleep in the arms of someone who was a complete stranger to her. She was not usually particularly fond of anyone beyond their little circle of friends. It was even more astonishing because Rosie almost never took naps anymore. "Do you have any children of your own?" he asked, not quite willing to admit exactly how _interested_ he was about her life. He didn't see a wedding ring, but that didn't mean that she wasn't attached to someone and already had a family.

"Oh no!" she laughed. "No husband or boyfriend, either - just in case you were wondering. However, I do have two godchildren who like to keep me on my toes. Speaking of whom…ironically…my goddaughter is an adorable little ginger lass whom we also call Rosie. Plus, she is about the same age as this pretty little blonde flower here." Hermione paused to tenderly push a stray curl off of the sleeping toddler's face. "As for getting her to sleep, I learned that technique several years ago because James, my godson, was a reluctant napper. I could always get that little move to work for him, though. It used to drive Harry, my best friend and James's father, quite mad – just because he never could manage it."

"It wasn't magic, then?" John asked, not quite believing that he had already accepted, at face value, everything she had told him about her powers. However, with all that she had shown him, how could he possibly doubt anything that she had said? Plus, Sherlock had obviously known about it all along, as well. Sherlock was the most skeptical person he knew. Therefore, if a man like that actually believed in magic, then what argument could John possibly have against it?

"Nope, just love," Hermione replied to his question with another flash of that beautiful grin that seemed to reach right down inside of him. He fancied that he could actually feel it warming something that had laid cold and barren there since Mary's death.

Sherlock, in his usual manner, just sat back and observed the situation as it unfolded. In fact, he had already made his own deductions and predictions on the matter. He had known Hermione for several years and John for even longer. Therefore, he was definitely not surprised that the two of them were getting along so well…or that there was also the possibility of something more there. There was an interest present in John's eyes that he had not seen in a long time and Sherlock was not shy about bringing up the subject to his best friend and former flatmate once Hermione volunteered to take Rosie up to her room to put her to bed.

"Well?" the detective asked as soon as they were alone. John just glanced at him questioningly. "Hermione…" Sherlock clarified with his typically impatient huff. "You are obviously attracted to her," he told the doctor smugly.

"Wh…what? I don't…I mean…we _just_ met, Sherlock." John sputtered with a bit of embarrassment since he had been preoccupied with watching Hermione carry Rosie up the stairs once he had given her directions to the little girl's room. He had to admit that he had found the sight to be quite attractive, but Sherlock didn't need to know that. Somehow, he realized that his overly observant self-righteous best mate probably already did, though, as the man continued to look at him while he waited for an answer. John just sighed and quickly changed the subject. "How do _you_ know Hermione?" he asked, throwing the ball back into Sherlock's court.

"I saved his arse in the Bulgarian wilderness about…oh…over four years ago now." Hermione answered when she suddenly came back into the room and reclaimed her seat.

"Oh!" exclaimed John as he had a sudden realization, "that was when you were gone…"

"Hunting the spiders…yes," Sherlock answered gravely. Neither one of the men ever felt comfortable talking about the couple of years after Sherlock had faked his own death and left London to go after Moriarity's followers, so he quickly continued the story. "Hermione was kind enough to lend her services after I had been…temporarily detained. It was completely unnecessary, of course. I was just biding my time…"

Hermione snorted with amusement at the detective's attempt to circumvent the truth. "You were about to get a bullet to the head, Sherlock! You were just lucky that Dolohov was distracted and did not _Avada_ you right there before I even realized that they had a captive in their camp." She then turned her attention back to John. "At any rate, I saved his life then...and then later he returned the favor and saved mine. We have been friends ever since!"

"Dolohov? Avada?" John asked, completely bewildered.

"Sherlock was not the only one out hunting _spiders_ right then," she said grimly. "I happened to be in the country visiting an old friend, when I heard a rumor that Dolohov, the dark wizard, was in the midst of what turned out to be a group of Sherlock's targets. The _Avada Kedavra_ was the killing curse that Dolohov used… among others…quite prolifically, I might add..."

At that statement, Hermione's cheerful smile slipped off her face and was replaced with a cold dark look in her eyes. John knew that look well. For the first time, he could see that there was even more to the woman than a pretty face and an ability to perform magic. She had seen war, too, and she had the mental scars to prove it.

In just a moment, she proved that she had the physical scars, as well, as she continued to explain. "In fact, he was the one who gave me this when I was just sixteen," she explained as pulled her blouse up to right beneath her breasts. A huge scarred purple slash diagonally bisected her abdomen and the doctor in him was amazed that she had survived something that was obviously meant to disembowel her. He felt a wave of fury against the man who had done this to such a young woman. He looked over at Sherlock to see how he felt about what had happened to his friend. Sherlock's mouth was drawn into a tight thin line, but he said nothing and he did not look surprised. Therefore, John knew that he had seen it before. The thought caused another odd little stab of envy.

 _Why was that?_ John knew he ought to feel happy for his friend if he had indeed found someone who could put up with him and all of his idiosyncrasies. However, John suddenly knew that he did not want _that_ someone to be Hermione. For some reason, he felt drawn to the intriguing woman and moved to comfort her by covering her hand with his own. At that thoughtful action, the darkness left her eyes and the smile suddenly returned to her face as she gave his hand a little squeeze of gratitude. John noticed that her gentle touch made his skin tingle in a very pleasant way. The effect was cut short, however, when she looked over at the clock on the wall.

Hermione sighed before saying, "It's been really nice to meet you, John, but I'm afraid that I have a meeting with the _other_ Holmes brother in just a few minutes. I'm sure you two know how he is about promptness!" She paused to shake her head with exasperation before she looked back over at Sherlock. "Wanna come with me?" she asked slyly.

"Thank you, but no." Sherlock replied in his usual curt tones. "I will pass this time, no matter how entertaining his reaction was last week when you turned his umbrella handle into a snake."

Hermione just grinned merrily at him. "That's what he gets for trying to intimidate _me_ – and he is supposed to be a smart man? Hmmph! Next time, forget the umbrella, _he_ will be the one I transfigure!"

While Sherlock snorted with amusement at that mental picture, John looked at them both with surprise. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "You know Mycroft, too? He knows about magic?"

Hermione sighed again, "Of course he knows…he _is_ the British government – even if he has difficulty realizing that I don't actually work for him."

"Hunting dark wizards…Mycroft…" John thought aloud before blurting out, "I am almost afraid to ask, but exactly what kind of work _do_ you do?"

"Well, I don't usually hunt dark wizards...not anymore, at least. Nowadays, I save that for Harry and his team. However, what happened in Bulgaria was…personal." Hermione said as her hand subconsciously rested on her abdomen before her countenance lightened again as she threw a smile over at their mutual friend. "Meeting Sherlock there was just a bonus! At any rate, I guess you could say that I am a freelance special investigator – Magical division. Just consider me the Sherlock of the magical world – except I solve the cases that he can't handle."

With a laugh at the suddenly sour look on Sherlock's face, Hermione turned to John and surprised him with an _Accio_ for his mobile. It zoomed off of the table where he had set it down and landed in her outstretched hand. After she had put in her contact information, she handed it back to him with another smile.

"Of course I will check in with you, but feel free to call me anytime you need to if Rosie has a burst of accidental magic that you just can't handle or even if you just have a question about something. I know that this is a complicated and disconcerting situation for you right now, and I bet that you are going to think of a thousand questions right after I leave. Sherlock can probably help you with some of them, but I will be here if you or little Rosie need me." With that warm statement, she leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. She smiled brightly at the surprised look on his face before adding, "It was so nice to meet you, John – and I really look forward to next time." Then to add to the shocks and strangeness of the day, she also gave Sherlock an identical kiss, as well, before waving goodbye to them both. She didn't walk to the door, though. She just took a couple of steps to the middle of the room and then disappeared with a sharp cracking sound.

"Wow!" exclaimed John, amazed by both the kiss and the sudden realization of how she had gotten to his house so fast earlier.

"Indeed," Sherlock replied as he nodded his head knowingly. "Now, as for my earlier observation…Are you planning to date her?" When John just stared at him blankly, Sherlock sighed at his friend's incompetence. "Really, John! How did you ever get together with Mary without me there to help you?"

"I think your absence was what did the trick that time," John snarked as he finally came back to his senses. Returning to the subject at hand, he asked uncertainly, "Would she…want to, do you think? I mean…she is quite extraordinary!"

"Just ask her, John."

John paused. "It feels strange, you know, thinking about another woman after all this time," he answered, as an unexpected surge of guilt and uncertainty crept in under his defenses.

Sherlock nodded in understanding. He had cared for Mary, as well, but... "It's been over two years, John. You are allowed to move on with your life."

"What about _you_? John asked suddenly, purposely changing the painful topic, and at the same time bringing out into the open what had bothered him all afternoon. "You and Hermione seem…close. Aren't _you_ interested in her?"

"She's too good for me," Sherlock stated in a matter-of-fact tone as he leveled a serious look at his friend. "However, she just might be worthy of you."

John started a bit at those words, but he did not know what to say about such a vast compliment – especially since the man rarely gave them. Therefore, he did not say anything at all and the two men finished their tea in the comfortable silence of a long established friendship.


	3. Resolutions & Plans

A few days had passed since John had received the astonishing news that his daughter was a witch. Oddly enough, he found that he was surprisingly comfortable with the situation – especially after meeting Hermione and learning more about the exciting things that life had in store for his little girl. John had also thought a great deal about the fascinating woman he met that day and wished for some excuse to contact her. However, all had been quiet on the magical front at home and so he had to bide his time before he could…well…he was still not exactly sure what he wanted to do about that situation. Consequently, when his mobile rang on Saturday, a little shiver of excitement coursed through him when he saw her name on the screen - and he rushed to answer it.

"Hello, John!" exclaimed Hermione cheerfully after his greeting _._ "I hope that this isn't a bad time." After he assured her that it was not, she continued. "I was thinking about you and little Rosie," she said and his heart leapt. S _he has been thinking about us!_ "Now that you know about her magic, you are no longer bound as just any ordinary Muggle under the Statute of Secrecy. Therefore, I was wondering if you would like to see more of the magical world? With me as your tour guide, of course!" John did not even have to think about his answer before he enthusiastically accepted. He honestly could not think of anything that he would rather do than to learn more about Rosie's magical ability _and_ to find out all he could about the vivacious witch who had helped him to process that shocking discovery smoothly. He found that he could not help but to smile at the sound of her bright and chipper tone as she set up a time to collect the two of them on the following afternoon and also to let him know that they should both dress casually.

After she had disconnected, he could not help but to wonder about Hermione. He definitely found her intriguing, but he did not know what to do about it…or even if he should do anything, at all. After all, she was younger…and lovely…and even intelligent enough to keep up with his brilliant detective friend. Therefore, she probably had her pick of men. Yet, on the other hand, she had purposely pointed out to him that she had neither a husband nor a boyfriend. _What did that mean? Why had she done that?_ He sighed as he thought about the fact that he just did not remember life as a single man being this complicated. Plus, all of that aside, he still was not completely sure that he was ready to move on just yet in that way.

Then he finally decided that he was being absolutely ridiculous and obviously overthinking the whole situation. After all, he had only met the woman _once_ and here he was planning their future…or lack thereof! In fact, he blamed Sherlock for putting such ideas in his head in the first place. At the thought of his often exasperating friend, John resolved to take his mind off of Hermione by calling him. However, when he tried to do so, the man did not answer and the call went straight to voicemail. _That's the third time this week_ , John thought with a slight frown. He was not _really_ worried, though. Sherlock often fell off of the grid for several days at a time when he was on an interesting case.

* * *

The next day, John sent Rosie to find her shoes and then put the kettle on while he awaited Hermione's arrival with a bit of nervous anticipation. He had still not determined if he wanted to pursue…anything…or not. After all, this was only their second meeting. Therefore, he decided that he would just adopt the _wait and see_ approach for the time being.

This decision helped to settle his uncertain thoughts, and his usual confident and calm demeanor returned just as he heard her knock at the door. When he went to open it, however, he could have sworn that his heart skipped a bit in surprise at the vision of loveliness who stood there. Hermione was wearing a casual light floral summer dress with sandals and a simple white cardigan. Her hair was loose and practically floated around her with a life of its own. She wore very little makeup because she just didn't need it. The effect was simply breathtaking and he managed to croak out a compliment, "You look lovely" before he realized that the kettle was whistling, and had probably been doing so for a while. "Tea?" he asked, trying to cover up the fact that his plan to be cool about the whole situation was already coming apart at the seams. Before he could start to panic, (How do two single people talk to each other?) he gestured for her to lead the way to the kitchen and said the first thing that came to his mind. "So…how did your meeting go with Mycroft the other day?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he cringed. _Why did I bring up Mycroft – of all people?_ he thought. However, he soon realized that the topic actually turned out to be a good icebreaker when she turned around and smiled back at him. He could not help but to return that smile as he pulled out a chair for her to sit in while he went and made the tea.

"Oh, the usual," she replied nonchalantly. "He pontificated…I pretended to listen. He demanded…I refused. He threatened…I turned his stapler into a rat. He screamed like a little girl…I laughed. Then, as usual, we made up over tea. Now we are friends again – until next time, at least!" John could not help but to laugh heartily at such a description. A woman who could handle both of the Holmes men so easily was certainly someone unique. Then his mind turned to the younger of the two brothers. "Have you seen Sherlock since the other day?" he asked as he handed her a mug of tea prepared the way he remembered from her previous visit. "He hasn't answered or returned any of my calls."

"Don't worry about it," Hermione replied reassuringly. "I don't believe that he is avoiding you or anything. This _is_ Sherlock we are talking about, so probably just didn't even think to tell you that he would be out of the country for a few days on as case for Mycroft. I do believe that he is supposed to be back by tomorrow," she clarified before she paused and smiled mischievously. "In fact, that's exactly why the big bad brother and I argued. He wanted me to go with Sherlock and pretend to be his wife again. I told him that I had better things to do than his brother this weekend."

At her choice of words, John choked on the tea he had just sipped while Hermione smirked and replied, "Funny…that was exactly the same response that Mycroft had!"

John marveled that, on top of everything else, she had such a wicked sense of humor. _She just keeps getting more and more interesting!_ he thought. "Do you pretend to be married to Sherlock often?" he had to ask, even though he felt a little niggle of displeasure at the idea.

"Occasionally!" she answered with another sly smile as she told her story. "Once in a while, we work together on cases that overlap. Last time, our cover was that we were newlywed members of the Eastern European aristocracy. _That_ was certainly an experience since Sherlock is quite the actor! In fact, he felt that it would lend an air of authenticity to the situation if he answered the door completely nude when our room service arrived – especially since he surmised, quite correctly as it turned out, that the waiter would really be the master thief for whom we were both searching. I was there because the man had walked away with a dangerous magical artifact, a cursed diamond in fact, while he had been pilfering the jewels of one of his victims. As suspected, however, the man had come to case out the suite of the rich Lord and his new Lady when we caught him." This last sentence was said in a thick Slavic accent that made John smile with even more admiration. _Why am I not surprised that she can act, too?_ Then Hermione laughed and spoke again in her normal voice. "As it turns out, even when he is tackling a thief masquerading as a waiter, our mutual friend has quite the shapely derriere! Therefore, I don't mind occasionally having to pull it out of the fire!" Even though he had never had anything but platonic feelings for his best friend, John thought back to a few memorable occasions, such as the Buckingham Palace incident, and found that he had to agree with her assessment of Sherlock's attributes – even if he was not thrilled to hear her talking so favorably about them herself.

Before he could comment, however, Rosie came skipping in, _sans_ shoes. "Mol…ly?" she asked hesitantly as she looked at Hermione for just a second before crawling up into her lap.

Hermione smiled at the little girl reassuringly when she realized that Rosie just didn't know what to call her. "My other little Rosie and her cousins call me _Miney._ You can, too…if you want." When the girl nodded her head happily, Hermione smiled at her affectionately. "Good!" she exclaimed and then asked the child, "would you like to meet my other Rosie? You could play with her and little Albus. They are your age and you will all be going to school together when you get older." Here she looked up and winked at her father when his daughter started to beg to go play with the other Rosie right then! "Let me talk to your Daddy about it while you go put on your shoes, okay?"

"O-kay!" shouted the little girl enthusiastically and practically ran back upstairs to her room.

"I hope that you don't mind, John," Hermione said apologetically while they finished their tea. "After I left here the other day, I was thinking about how much my parents struggled with the concept of the magical world after they realized that I was a witch. They didn't know anyone in that world but me and the one professor who came to break the news to them, at first. Therefore, they had no access to that part of my life and essentially remained outsiders until…well…" here her eyes turned sad and she paused to take a deep breath. John realized that her parents must be gone now, just like his own were. Just as he was about to reach across the table for her hand to comfort her, however, she regained her composure and continued. "Now, in hindsight, I realize how much easier things would have been on them if they just had some knowledge and connections beforehand. Therefore, that is what I thought we could do today. I want to introduce you to the magical family that practically adopted me while I was growing up…and afterwards…when my parents… were no longer around."

This time when she paused, her eyes cleared and her bright smile returned. "We have been invited to Sunday dinner at the Burrow. That means that you are going to meet the most outrageous Wizarding family out there, the redheaded Weasley clan. My best friend, Harry, married Ginny, who is the youngest Weasley sibling, and the only girl out of seven. My godson, James, is their oldest son. Albus, their younger son, is your Rosie's age. They also have a sweet little baby girl, Lily. My goddaughter, Rosie, is Ron's daughter. He is my other best friend and is also Ginny's brother. He and his wife, Susan, also have a baby boy named Hugo. They will all be at the dinner today, along with who knows how many of the others. The attendance differs every week – and just depends on whomever can make it. It should be fun, though. As an only child myself, I always loved being a part of their big family atmosphere. There was always something going on…and it was _never_ boring! Plus, it will give you and Rosie a chance to meet some other witches and wizards and to get used to the different ways in which those who use magic do things."

John was a little disappointed at the thought that he wouldn't get to spend the day alone with just her and Rosie. However, he listened to her speak fondly of her adopted family and realized that it was a really great idea for them to meet some other magic users – especially for his daughter. After all, she was a part of their world now and she would actually be growing up and going to school with Hermione's godchildren and their siblings. He wanted to be involved with that part of his little girl's life, too. Therefore, he recognized that this was a really well-thought out plan on Hermione's part. A big part of him also wanted to know more about this amazing woman in front of him. What better way to do that than to meet her two best friends and the people who watched her grow up?

Therefore, he nodded reassuringly to the woman who seemed to be nervously awaiting his thoughts on the matter. "That sounds like a great plan, Hermione!"

She smiled at him again. "Brilliant!" she exclaimed excitedly before asking a seemingly unrelated question. "Who is Molly?"

John was confused at first, until he realized that Rosie had called her "Molly" when she had entered the kitchen. "Oh, Molly is Rosie's godmother. She has always been a very good friend to both Sherlock and me – even when it was not easy to do so – which, as you can probably imagine, was quite often. Mary, my…um…Rosie's Mum, really liked her, as well."

"Oh, I see." Hermione said gently. She had heard his little slip of confusion in the last sentence, but would never dream of embarrassing or hurting him by mentioning it. Sherlock had told her all about John's late wife, after all. Therefore, she just continued speaking as if she had not noticed. "That's another coincidence, then. Molly is the name of the Weasley matriarch. She is the warmest person and the best cook that you will ever meet. Molly is also the name of her youngest granddaughter, Percy and Audrey's new baby."

"Well, there is no way that I will be able to remember all of their names, but I would like to meet them all!" he replied. "In fact, if you are ready, then I will go find my daughter, who obviously got lost while looking for her shoes. Then we can be on our way!"

"I'm ready whenever you are," she said pleasantly and reached over the table to give his hand a squeeze as he stood up. He smiled at her in return.

* * *

As he walked away from her and up the stairs to Rosie's room, he realized that Hermione's easygoing presence had quickly put him completely at ease. Despite that awkward stumble in his reference to Mary (which really had nothing to do with the witch at all), there was just something about Hermione that made him forget about all about his uncertainty. In fact, being with her felt easy and natural…just like breathing.

 _Wait and see!_ he had to remind himself forcefully as he felt that resolution rapidly dissipating with her continued presence. However, it certainly did not help when he had to ask her to come up to the bedroom and help remove Rosie's shoes from the ceiling where the little girl had somehow magicked them _or_ when she had collapsed into his arms with laughter after they fell on his head. In fact, the resolution had all but disappeared by the time that Rosie told Hermione that she had to kiss her daddy's ouchies to make them all better. By the time that the lovely woman actually pressed the gentle kisses to both the top of his head and to the tip of his ear, he had completely forgotten that such a resolution had ever existed in the first place!


	4. An Afternoon at the Burrow

John, for all of his enthusiasm, was just not prepared for all of the surprises that the rest of the day would bring. First of all, he realized that they were not just going to hop in a cab and go to the Weasleys' home. They would have to travel there by magical means. Hermione called this form of transportation _apparating._ First, she picked up Rosie and settled the little girl on her hip. She then wrapped her free arm around him and pulled him close. "This might feel a little bit weird, at first" she whispered in his ear. Her action caused him to shiver from the combination of her warm ticklish breath on his neck and the proximity of her body pressed up against his own.

 _Weird was a complete understatement!_ John thought when it was all over _._ He could not even begin to describe the sensation of standing in his lounge area one minute and then _immediately_ being in someone's garden the next – or the nauseous feeling that apparently accompanied the transition.

"Oh, I am so sorry about that," Hermione said sympathetically. She dropped her arm from around his waist and set the completely unaffected Rosie down on the grass. She then turned back to him and gently rubbed his back as they waited for his sick feeling to fade. "However, I promise that you do get used to it after a while." After a moment or two, he felt better - and pleased with her attention - but completely mortified by his weakness. Hermione noticed his embarrassment. "Seriously, John, don't worry about it. It happens to all of us when we first start traveling this way – except for the little ones, for some reason." She gestured affectionately to Rosie who was happily twirling around in circles in the grass.

Then Hermione turned around. With a big smile on her face, she exclaimed, "Welcome to the Burrow!" He turned around, too, and his jaw dropped.

"How does it stay up?" he cried out in amazement. The _house_ in front of them seemed to defy both logic and gravity.

"Magic!" she said with a shrug and a wide smile that was so attractive that he experienced a sudden temptation to snog it off of her – until he was completely distracted by the stream of redheads, as well as a few others, who came out of the house to greet them.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed in a flurry of activity. First, he was hugged and kissed by a plump matronly woman who told him to call her Molly. Then she picked up his daughter and called her "little yellow Rosie, so we can keep you straight from little red Rosie." Then the other Rosie came running up with a little black-haired boy in tow.

"Aunt Miney," they cried out, before giving her hugs and kisses. The next thing he knew they had taken _his_ Rosie into the house and apparently upstairs where several other children waved at them from a window. He was then introduced to Hermione's two best friends since childhood, Harry and Ron, along with their wives. When they went inside the house, he only had a moment to glance around in wonder, _Are those needles knitting by themselves?_ , before being introduced to several other redheaded men. At this point, the doctor in him could not help but to notice the deep vertical scars that covered the face of one of the men and that another one seemed to be missing an ear! He turned to Hermione with a questioning look as soon as they had a moment to breathe in between introductions.

"We will talk about it, later," she whispered and he noticed immediately that her eyes clouded over, just like they had when she had talked about that dark wizard and what he had done to her. She also rubbed one of her forearms self-consciously through her cardigan, and he wondered with concern if she had more scars there, too. He didn't have long to follow this train of thought, however, because just then what seemed like a herd of children trampled through the kitchen on the way out to the gardens. He saw his own Rosie scream with laughter as she rode piggyback style on the back of an older boy with bright turquoise hair. As he watched, the boy's hair transformed into long blond curls – just like his daughter's. He looked over at Hermione, whose eyes had brightened at the sight, before she answered his unspoken question. "That's Teddy, Harry's godson. He's a metamorphmagus – just like his mother was." She gave a little laugh at the confusion in his eyes before she explained further. "That means that he can change his appearance at will."

"Oh," was all that John could say. He was completely bewildered, but before he could comment further, yet another redheaded man appeared beside them. This one was considerably older than the others, however, so John assumed he was the patriarch of the family.

"Hermione!" the man said and beamed happily at her while she jumped up to give him a hug.

"Hello, Arthur! I wondered where you were hiding. Out in the shed, were you?"

"Only until I heard you were here with your young man…and he's a Muggle? That's just wonderful! I have so many questions to ask you!" the exuberant man exclaimed turning to John and shaking his hand excitedly. "I just saw that beautiful child of yours, too, out in the garden with the rest of the monkeys. She's a little witch, also, I understand. Good! Good! The stuffy old wizarding world needs more Muggleborns…especially if they are like our Hermione here. Your little one must be very special if our girl here is taking her under her wing. You must be, too, since you are the first fellow that she has brought around in a long while…and the first Muggle ever!"

"Um…thank you," John said hesitantly and looked over at Hermione to see how she took the idea that he was her _young man_ and her _fellow_. He was reassured that at least she was not upset by the idea when she just laughed and rolled her eyes at the older man's enthusiastic antics.

Just then Molly bustled in and directed Arthur to start setting up the tables in the garden. John volunteered to help him. Hermione smiled brightly at his offer, before leaning over to whisper in his ear. "They don't really need any help since they will be using magic. However, it's usually a sight to be seen, so why don't you go out and enjoy the show while I help Molly in the kitchen. I'm sure that the girls will want to gossip about our sex life." He jerked his head up at that and looked into her eyes to see them sparkling with amusement. He realized that she was just teasing him, and he also realized that he quite liked it…almost as much as the idea of them _actually_ having a sex life together!

"Yes, Dear!" he therefore teased her in response. He was rewarded with that beautiful beaming smile again that did something strange to his insides. _So much for the wait and see approach!_ he thought ruefully.

She then turned him over to Harry, since Ron had already gone outside with his father, and instructed them both to "Play nice!" John followed Harry out where they decided to check on the children first. They found the younger ones chasing what looked like little giggling potatoes in pointy hats around the garden while the older ones just lounged around and watched them.

"Gnomes," Harry told a bewildered John. "They're pesky, but harmless." Reassured, that his daughter was safe and having fun, John nodded and they continued to walk past a screened porch area where several owls perched. "Our postal service," Harry explained. He saw the incredulous look on the man's face and laughed. "I know that this must all seem so crazy to you, John. My parents were both magical, but they died when I was just a baby, so I was raised by Muggle relatives who hated magic. Therefore, just like Hermione, I didn't know anything about this world until I was eleven. That's why you and your little Rosie are here. Besides the fact that she obviously likes _you_ personally, Hermione has always believed that Muggleborns should be introduced to our world earlier, so that there is not so much culture-shock for them…or the Purebloods. If both sides were a little more used to each other growing up, then someone like Voldemort wouldn't have been able to rise to power on something as ridiculous as a blood status platform. Then the Wizarding Wars wouldn't have happened, we wouldn't have been hunted, and Hermione wouldn't have been tortured…" his voice trailed off as he saw the shocked look on John's face. "Oh, mate, I'm so sorry. She hasn't told you about that yet, has she? You haven't seen her scars?" Then a panicked look crossed his face. "Oh man, she is going to kill me! She can throw some of the meanest hexes I have ever seen…and I chase dark wizards for a living!"

At the mention of scars and dark wizards, John thought back to the conversation from last week again. "She told me about…Dolohov…and showed me the…" here he paused and gestured to his abdomen.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Harry breathed. "I really wasn't kidding about those hexes. She doesn't want to be defined by what happened to her and…well…that's why she always keeps her scars covered." He then led the now very seriously thoughtful John ( _There was a war? Hermione was tortured? She has more scars? Was I right? Are they on her arm?_ ) around to the side garden where they were met by the sight of several tables being levitated through the air along with many chairs. The sight temporarily distracted the doctor from his unhappy thoughts. The whole thing looked a bit like a dance and John realized why Hermione thought that he would like to see it. Then the dance turned into something more like an American-style tag team wrestling match where the chairs started ganging up on each other – all choreographed by the laughing redheaded wizards on the ground.

* * *

Then came the meal itself. Almost as soon as the tables had been set up, they instantly became laden down with food. Before he knew it, he found himself at the table and seated between Hermione and Ron with Harry across from him. He could see his Rosie at a smaller table nearby with the other children and he watched gratefully while the older ones helped to serve her and the rest of the younger ones. Hermione reached over to pat his hand.

"She's doing great…and so are you," she murmured reassuringly. He smiled back at her, but the look faded as he thought about what Harry had told him. How could anyone have hurt someone as kind and personable as this woman beside him?

Hermione saw his look darken and instantly guessed what had caused it. "Harry's been running his mouth, hasn't he?" she said quietly while she shot her best friend a look through narrowed eyes. Harry spread his hands out in a silent plea and then yelped in pain at the stinging hex that Hermione sent in his direction under the table.

"Now, Hermione, you know the rules better than that. No hexing at the table," Mrs. Weasley scolded and then paused before adding, "no matter how much they deserve it!"

"Sorry, Molly!" Hermione replied, even though it was clear that she really wasn't. She sent another warning glance over at Harry, who blanched under her scrutiny.

When John looked over at her again with concern in his eyes, she sighed. "We will discuss it later, if you wish," she murmured quietly. "However, it was _not_ the first impression that I wanted you to have of the wizarding world. At any rate, it's over now. I am okay." She gestured at the rest of the table. "All of us here survived and we will never forget those who did not. That's why we fight every day to catch the dark wizards, to educate the young ones, and to make sure that it doesn't happen again…so that our children will never have to experience what we did." George, who was sitting on her other side, heard these words and reached over to take her hand.

"Fred would have been so proud of everything that you have done to insure that, Mione," he said in a low voice, but John still heard him.

"Thank you, George!" she responded and squeezed the man's hand. "Will you please do something for me?"

"Anything, M'lady!" he said with a mini flourish that made her giggle.

"Prank Harry," she requested slyly.

"Gladly!" was the gleeful response and John saw Hermione grin again. He suddenly wondered what a magical prank would look like. He had a feeling that he would soon find out!

However, before he could ask, the usual Quidditch discussion started. Upon realizing that John did not know _anything_ about the game, Ron took it upon himself to explain it to him – with enthusiastic input from Harry, George, and both of their wives – whom John soon found out were all former players.

"That's my cue!" Hermione said after only a few minutes, as she made a face and got up from the table. John watched her go and savored the small touch that she left on his shoulder, as well as the wink and the "Have fun!" that she mouthed to him as she walked over to talk to the rest of the family at the other table.

"Don't worry about it, mate!" Ron said. "Mione's never been a fan."

"Which is really weird, since she used to date the seeker from the Bulgarian National team!" piped up the pretty dark skinned woman in the conversation. John remembered that she was George's wife, but he couldn't recall her name. Then he realized what she had said. _Hermione used to date a professional magical athlete? Wait a minute…Bulgaria…Isn't that where she met Sherlock? She said she was visiting a friend there. It must have been this Quidditch bloke!_ He was distracted from his musing by Ginny's sudden laugh.

"Ahh, Viktor!" she exclaimed. "He had such a nice…um…accent!" Then she winked at her husband and looked at her brother. "Ron had such a man crush on him. I think he took their break up harder than either Viktor or Hermione did!"

"I did not!" Ron exclaimed and the color of his face suddenly matched the color of his hair.

Hermione looked up from her conversation with Percy and Audrey when she heard the sudden riotous laughter coming from the group that she just left. "Do I even want to know?" she called over to them as she cuddled baby Molly.

"No!" came the choral response from at least three of her friends. Therefore, she just shook her head in bemusement and proceeded to ignore whatever embarrassing topic she was sure was being discussed around her new friend.

After the remnants of dinner were cleared instantly with magic and the tables were removed, the brooms came out and Harry offered John a ride while Ginny took up little yellow Rosie. Little red Rosie rode with her father while Albus rode with his Uncle George. The older children all had their own brooms and soon the sky over the Burrow was full of swooping and laughing kids of all ages.

* * *

When it was finally time to say goodnight, little yellow Rosie cried because she did not want to leave all of her new friends. It took a lot of hugs and kisses from all the women in the Weasley clan for the little girl to calm down. Molly and Arthur then issued a standing invitation for both Rosie and John and let them know that they were welcome to return with Hermione anytime that they wanted. After a round of handshakes for John and even more hugs and kisses for little yellow Rosie and Hermione, they prepared to leave. Right before they apparated out of the Burrow, however, George called Hermione's name. She nudged John to get him to watch and then grinned as she watched Harry take a sip of his tea. All of a sudden there was a squawk, and a giant dancing chicken stood in Harry's place. Hermione blew George a kiss of gratitude and then started to laugh. She was still laughing as they apparated out of there and landed in the middle of John's lounge.

"So _that_ was a wizarding prank!" John said thoughtfully and found that he was able to flash a grin at Hermione despite the nausea that the unusual travel method had induced again. "I think I that I am going to really like your world. Thank you so much for taking us to the Burrow, Hermione! It was a truly… _magical_ …experience."

"You're so welcome!" she said honestly with a little smile at his pun. "Would the two of you like to do something else next weekend?" John, who could scarcely believe his luck that she wanted to spend more time with them, agreed immediately. They decided on a time for the following Saturday and then she gave him a warm kiss on the cheek before she scooped up little Rosie and kissed her, too. Then she placed the little girl in her father's arms and her hand lingered on his forearm as she quietly said her goodbyes. She gave Rosie one last tickle and at the little girl's shriek of laughter, Hermione smiled at John, stepped back, and apparated away.

John continued to look at the spot where she disappeared for another moment thinking warm thoughts about the woman until Rosie's yawn pulled his attention back to the present. He proceeded to put his tired little girl to bed and was also in his pajamas, with a cup of tea, and reviewing the amazing adventures of the day himself before he realized that Hermione had left before they could have a talk about some of the more serious issues that had come up throughout the day. He was certain that she had timed her departure like that on purpose. Even though he was curious and concerned, however, he could not find it in his heart to blame her for not wanting to discuss something that was obviously so painful for her and her adopted family.


	5. A Day of Surprises

The following week seemed to pass extremely slowly, full of mundane and normal activity, with only a text or two from Hermione and Sherlock to relieve the dullness. However, the weekend finally arrived and John waited nervously in the lounge for Hermione to arrive. After visiting the Weasleys with her last weekend, he was excited to see more of the wizarding world. However, if he was being honest, then he would have to admit that he was even more excited about seeing Hermione again. It seemed as if every time he saw her, he learned more new and interesting things about her. Plus, since it was obvious that the _wait and see_ approach had ended before it ever really began, John finally allowed himself to admit that he was indeed attracted to her - as Sherlock had so easily seen the first time they met. However, he still did not know how she felt about him. She was such a kind and affectionate person to everybody that he just could not tell if he was reading too much into her actions towards him or not. She seemed to like him, but did she think of him as just the parent of a Muggleborn witch whom she was determined to introduce to magical society like Harry had mentioned _or_ was she interested in him becoming her man as Arthur had implied?

Then there was the issue of her previous romantic history. She used to date a professional magical athlete and apparently their relationship had been a long term one. Plus, he was still fairly certain that she had been involved with his own best friend at some point. He did not know how he felt about that – especially since he knew Sherlock was being intentionally vague about the whole matter. At any rate, how could he even come close to competing with a wizard and/or an athlete and/or a genius? He was just plain old John. Apparently, the most exciting thing he had ever done was father a witch. Even then, he suspected that Mary's genes had far more to do with that than his own had.

Those doubts did not stop his heart from racing, though, when he heard her now familiar knock at his door. _I am an adult man…a father!_ he chastised himself as he went to open it, " _Not some pimply-face virgin teenager who has never talked to a girl before. What is wrong with me?"_ He took a deep breath and opened the door – only to find Sherlock standing there, alone. His face fell and his look of disappointment must have been obvious because Sherlock just laughed in his usual sardonic way.

"It's nice to see you, too, John. However, something tells me that you were expecting someone else?" His observant eyes swept over John's immaculate hair, new shirt, pressed trousers, and even his polished shoes. "A certain attractive witch, perhaps?" His knowing smirk only served to irritate his best friend, though. John sighed, already knowing that this day was not going to proceed as planned.

"It's not that I am not happy to see you, Sherlock, but what exactly are you doing here? Where is Hermione? I could have sworn that I heard her knock," he said in an almost whinging manner.

"Never fear, John, Ms. Granger will return momentarily. She just forgot something and had to literally _pop_ back home for a minute. As for myself, well, when Hermione told me what her plans were for the day, I insisted on coming." He smirked and John actually had to resist the urge to hit him…until the man spoke again. "I thought that I could assist with keeping little Rosie occupied while the two of you became better…acquainted." John's irritation completely vanished at that point and he clapped his friend's shoulder with gratitude. Before he could say anything, however, Hermione apparated straight into his lounge, holding a little bag in her hand.

"Hello, John!" she said cheerfully and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I see that Sherlock has explained everything to you."

"Not really," John replied. "He was just being his usual cryptic self."

"Well, that is _our_ Sherlock!" Hermione said and smiled at the other man, too, as she patted his cheek affectionately. John could not help but to frown at that. Sherlock caught the look and smirked again. Before either of them could say anything, however, Rosie ran into the room.

"Miney, Unk Shuluk!" the little girl cried delighted to see two of her favorite people. She ran over to them, but then paused when she couldn't decide who to hug first. Finally, she just wrapped each of her arms around one of their legs and hugged them both at the same time like that!

"A problem solver, that's my girl!" said Sherlock proudly as he swung his goddaughter up into a big hug before handing her to Hermione.

She hugged the little girl also before setting her down and saying, "The Weasleys sent you something, little yellow Rosie." She pulled a picture frame out of the bag and handed it to the little girl. Rosie squealed with delight as she saw a moving picture of herself surrounded by the Weasley children, all of whom were laughing and waving. "I thought that she might want to keep it in her bedroom, so I put an unbreakable charm on the glass for safety," Hermione told John. "I also put an automatic freezing charm on it – just in case it is seen by a Muggle…with the exception of you and Sherlock, of course!"

"That's perfect…and so thoughtful!" John said looking at the happy bunch of playing children that they had met the previous weekend. "Please thank them for us!"

"Thank them yourself," she said with a smile. "You and Rosie have been invited back for dinner tomorrow. It will be a much smaller group this time and apparently Arthur was quite disappointed when he didn't get to pick your brains about …What was it _this_ time?…Oh, yes! Keys! He wanted to talk about locks and keys!" she laughed and then turned towards the other man. "You know that you are invited, too, Sherlock. Harry would enjoy seeing you again – away from work."

"Thank you, but no." Sherlock declined. "Family dinners – even magical ones - are _not_ my cup of tea!" Both John and Hermione laughed at that understatement and neither of them were surprised by his refusal.

* * *

"Is everyone ready to go then?" Hermione after a few more minutes of friendly chitchat - mainly between her and John while Sherlock watched. "Since you have already been to a wizarding home, I thought that you all might like to see a wizarding village today. Since the school children are on summer holiday, I thought that we would visit Hogsmeade instead of Diagon Alley. It's smaller, but it is the only all-wizarding village in Britain and it will be less crowded at this time of year. Plus, you will be able to see where Hogwarts is located. How does that sound?"

"Educational." Sherlock said in a flat tone, but both John and Hermione could see the interest in his eyes.

"Calm down there, Sherlock!" laughed Hermione. "You might hurt yourself." John snorted in amusement, too, at the look on his friend's face.

"Okay, then." Hermione stated cheerfully. "As good as I am, I cannot apparate with all three of you at the same time, so you men are going to have to take turns. Which one of you is going first with Rosie?"

John opened his mouth to speak, but Sherlock beat him to it. "I will do that," he said smoothly and then winked surreptitiously at John when Hermione turned around to pick up the little girl. With her secure on one hip, Hermione then wrapped her arm around Sherlock's waist. It was a cozy scene, and John could not help to feel a little jealous when he realized what an attractive couple they made. He tried not to show it, though, since she was looking at him. "I'll be right back for you, John," she explained and he nodded.

"Bye, Daddy!" exclaimed little Rosie with a cheerful wave. John waved back and then they were gone. A couple of long minutes passed before Hermione popped back into the lounge. She smiled at him and, without hesitation, stepped close and put both arms around him. His breath hitched at her closeness and he was very aware of her body pressed up against his.

 _Oh my god, I can feel her breasts!_ That pimply teenager inside of him crowed before she drew John back to attention when she spoke to him. "You are going to have put your arms around me, your hands on my waist, or something, John. I wouldn't want you to get splinched along the way." At her words, he moved awkwardly to place his hands on her waist, but miscalculated a bit and they ended up on her hips instead. "That works, too," she said with a laugh, "especially if you want to dance!" Then she did a little shimmy as a playful demonstration. In the process, however, she brushed up against his crotch and, against his will, it roared into life. It was completely unexpected and he was mortified, but at the same time he also had a sudden desire to push her up against the wall while he… "Ready to go?" she then asked, completely unaware that she had interrupted his little fantasy.

"Um...yes…of course," he whispered trying to get a handle on his runaway libido before she noticed.

It didn't help when she leaned in close to kiss the tip of his nose before she said "Here we go, then. Don't forget to take deep breaths. It will help a bit with the nausea." With those words, they were off. The next thing that he knew, they were standing outside - right in front of a decrepit looking building. John was actually grateful when Hermione let go of him this time and went to scoop up Rosie to excitedly point out something beyond the treeline. He took that opportunity to try to fix his awkward problem before she realized it. Unfortunately, someone else already had.

"That looked…intimate," came the quietly amused voice from behind him.

"Shut it, Sherlock!" he said as he put his hands on his knees trying to contain both his embarrassing situation and the nausea from the ride. After a moment, they were both under control and he looked straight up into Sherlock's overly observant gaze.

Before the man could say anything, however, Rosie's shriek of excitement filled the air. "Castle, Daddy, look!" she said – pointing up the hill and past the trees. Both men looked up, but it was soon obvious that they could not see what Rosie saw.

"All I see are ruins." John commented with obvious confusion. Sherlock just kept looking up the hill, trying to solve the discrepancy between what his eyes saw and what his mind knew to be true.

"The castle is warded," Hermione explained to them both, "so it can't be seen or found by mere Muggles." Here she paused and grinned so cheekily at them that neither of them could find it possible to feel offended by her statement. "I can't remove the spells that surround the castle. However, if you trust me, I can put a spell on you that will allow you to see it."

"Of course," Sherlock said immediately since he had been on the receiving end of her spells many times whenever they worked together. Hermione smiled at him and then looked at John.

 _If Sherlock can do, then so can I!_ John thought and then nodded, trying not to show his nervousness. However, he needn't have worried. At the sight of Hermione's smile at his show of trust, his anxiety completely faded away.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "Now if you gentlemen will just get closer together, then I think that I can do both of you at the same time." She then sent a saucy wink their way and John, even though he knew it was just her wicked sense of humor again, automatically flushed hotly at her implication – especially when his earlier questionable thoughts were taken into consideration. Meanwhile, however, Sherlock just smirked at the obvious joke.

Holding back a smile at John's obvious discomfiture, Hermionepointed her wand in their direction. _Cernamus Intuitu,_ she exclaimed and a small white mist briefly appeared, circled them, and then dissipated completely.

"Cernamus Intuitu," mused Sherlock out loud. "That's Latin for…"

"Clear sight," John interrupted. "What?" he asked when he saw the impressed look that Sherlock shot at him. "I _am_ a doctor, you know. I do know _some_ things!"

Hermione just snickered at their bickering before she tried to catch their attention. "If you two boys are quite finished, I would appreciate it if you would tell me if it worked correctly or not." Both men looked up the hill and gasped simultaneously. "I will take that as a _yes_ , then," Hermione said smugly, as she also looked up at the huge castle. " _That_ is the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" she exclaimed proudly. "I learned all about magic, friendship, and love there," she paused for a minute and her eyes clouded over in the way that John was beginning to recognize before she added, "as well as more than I ever wanted to know about pain, loss, and death." She then reached down to hug little Rosie who was picking the little wildflowers that grew next to the shack. "We handled it, though, so that this wonderful little girl and others like her would actually have the chance to come here to learn and not be ostracized…or worse…just because of their blood status. That's makes it all worth it!" Her face then lit up with a smile again as Rosie hugged her back and handed her the little bundle of flowers that she had collected before she wiggled out of Hermione's arms and started to chase the butterflies.

Hermione smiled at such innocence and turned back to see the two men watching her with concern. "I'm okay," she reassured them. "We all have our demons to fight and our crosses to bear, but you two know that as well as anybody." She then turned to John. "Sherlock knows _most_ of the story already," she said. "However, the short version is that there was a bad guy. Think of someone extremely persuasive and charismatic, like Moriarity, but with powerful…and dark…magic at his disposal." John shuddered at the thought. Moriarity had caused enough trouble and pain with no magic at all, what kind of havoc could he have wreaked with it – especially the dark, evil kind? He glanced at Sherlock, who nodded, knowing exactly what John was thinking.

Hermione continued, "Now imagine that he had a large following of powerful Pureblood wizards and witches with practically unlimited "old money" funding and very little collective conscience. Combine that with the loyalty of a slew of dark creatures and an overall deep-seated disgust and violent hatred for Muggles, Muggleborns, and anybody who associated with them. Only then can you even _start_ getting an idea about what happened here, but the story is really so much worse than that!" Hermione paused and was about to continue when a very familiar, large, and shaggy head appeared in her line of sight.

"Hagrid!" she cried out – and the morose history that she was reliving was forgotten for just a moment and replaced with the absolute delight of seeing an old friend.


	6. The Hogsmeade Visit

"Ello there, 'Ermione!" Hagrid exclaimed while swinging the woman into a crushing hug. "I wasn't expectin' to be meetin' you 'ere today. The 'eadmistress sent me down to see what was messin' with the wards. It wasn't you lot, was it?" he asked, eyeing the two men suspiciously, while setting a breathless Hermione back down on her feet.

"Oh, Hagrid, I am afraid that it _was_ us. Let me send her up a message so she won't worry." With that, her wand was in her hand and after she cast an _Expecto Patronum,_ a misty silver otter appeared and swam happy circles around her. "Deliver this message to Headmistress McGonagall, please," she told it. "Hello, Minerva. Don't worry, it's just me down here disturbing your wards. I'm introducing a young Muggleborn and her family to Hogsmeade today . I will tell you all about it at tea on Monday. You can expect me at 4 o'clock." She swished her wand to end the message and the otter took off gliding toward the castle.

She turned back to an amazed John and even an obviously impressed Sherlock, and laughed as she introduced them to the game and grounds keeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher. "The wee one's a witch, then?" the big man asked, smiling down at Rosie who grinned back up at the big hairy man and handed him a flower. When John nodded, still a bit in awe at the big wild-looking man, Hagrid smiled back down at the girl and the young woman beside him. "If she's 'alf as powerful as our 'ermione 'ere, then she's gonna be somethin' special! They 'aven't invented a spell our 'ermione can't do _._ "

"Oh, hush, Hagrid!" Hermione said sounding pleased, but obviously a bit embarrassed - judging by the pink on her cheeks. John thought that she looked absolutely adorable, but those thoughts were interrupted when she started to speak again. "By the way, she'll be starting Hogwarts with Harry's little Albus and Ron's little Rosie, too."

The man laughed. "Wha'? All at the same time? Merlin! I better get workin' on some more help to keep 'em all in line. I wonder if Charlie Weasley will bring Norbert…um….Norberta back!" John and Sherlock didn't understand this reference at all, but judging by the way Hermione giggled, it must have been an old joke. Hagrid received another hug from Hermione, another flower from Rosie (which earned her an affectionate pat on the head), and handshakes from the men that had them both trying to discretely shake some feeling back into their abused appendages afterwards. The big man then headed back up to the castle, after declining a drink at The Three Broomsticks, saying he still had to feed the hippogriffs and thestrals.

Just then a misty silver tabby cat, appeared at Hermione's feet and wound itself around her ankles. Once Hermione acknowledged it, the cat opened its mouth and an older woman's voice with a distinctive Scottish burr could be heard. "Now that's a story I definitely want to hear, Miss Granger. Therefore, I look forward to our tea on Monday – promptly at 4." When it finished speaking, the cat disappeared – much to Rosie's displeasure since she was trying to pet it. She loved cats!

"Wow!" exclaimed John. "That is definitely cooler than a mobile." Hermione just laughed again before proceeding with their tour.

"Well, come along then. There is so much more to see. We haven't even gotten to the village, yet!" she exclaimed and started to lead the way. During their walk up the path to the village, Sherlock walked with Rosie, holding her hand. That left John to walk in front of them with Hermione, her hand in the crook of his elbow. She didn't see the surreptitious smirk that Sherlock sent him, but she didn't mind the arrangement, at all. Along the way, she told them about Hagrid's ancestry and family, his love of dangerous creatures, and the story behind Norberta the Dragon and Charlie Weasley (whom John had not met, yet). She also explained the history of the Shrieking Shack, including how Remus used it as a cage during the full moon and how Professor Snape died there, while she watched helplessly – unable to counteract neither the blood loss nor the cursed snake venom.

Therefore, she was glad when the picturesque village suddenly came into view before them. She quickly wiped the brimming tears out of her eyes with her free hand and smiled at the sight of all the familiar businesses. "Welcome to Hogsmeade!" she said with a flourish. "For some reason, the goblins have never opened a bank here, so there is nowhere to change your money. However, if you want or need anything, just let me know. I've brought plenty of coin and all the merchants here know me and would be happy to put it on my account. You guys can always pay me back later." After seeing the look on their faces, she sighed, "No arguments, I insist! You will find out that we still do a lot of things the old-fashioned way here in the magical world."

With those words, she took them shopping. Both John and Sherlock received a few strange looks, until it became clear that they were with Hermione. She had been correct, of course. All of the shopkeepers knew her and acted honored that she had visited their businesses – along with her guests. John was quite curious about her obvious popularity and resolved to ask either her or Sherlock about it before the day was over.

First, they stopped into Gladrag's, where Hermione was able to find a nice set of robes for John on the racks. She waved away his protests saying, "You are a part of this world now, so you never know when you might need a set." Then she leaned over and said in a loud stage whisper, "Sherlock has a set of custom made ones. I think that they make him feel fancy!" They both had a laugh at the look on the detective's face when he heard that. They also picked out a set of self-adjusting robes for Rosie. They would grow with her until it was time for her to buy a fitted set. The little girl also found a pair of Gladrag's specialty socks that she couldn't live without. They were both sparkly and color-changing. "Dobby would have loved them!" Hermione muttered to herself and sighed sadly before she took them up to the counter to purchase.

Next they visited Scrivenshaft's where they purchased parchment and envelopes made specifically for owl post, so that John and Rosie could return any messages sent to them - since Harry was the only one (besides Hermione) who owned and actually knew how to use a mobile phone. Sherlock also picked out a couple of self-inking quills for himself. He would never admit it out loud, but he had fallen in love with the old-fashioned style of writing on an earlier joint venture with Hermione. He found that it was comforting and helped to serve in the organization of his thought process – much like playing the violin did.

Honeydukes was fun. They were greeted enthusiastically by the young woman behind the counter who practically tripped over herself to serve Hermione and her friends. John finally received some answers as to _why_ when Rosie discovered the Chocolate Frogs display. As she opened one for the little girl, Hermione explained the magic of the candy and the collectability of the card inside. She managed to catch the frog before it hopped away. However, a small and embarrassed "Oh, dear" escaped her when she pulled the card out of the box. At these words, Sherlock peered over her shoulder at it. Then he snorted in amusement, plucked it out of her hands, and passed it along to John despite her muttered dissent. John stared down in amazement at the little card in his hand as a smaller image of the woman next to him peered up through her waves of hair with a small and sweet, but almost shy smile. After a little wave, she was gone. John's eyes then eagerly skimmed the information listed on the back of the colorful card.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Jean Granger**_

 _Considered by most to be the "Brightest Witch of her Age." She is best known for being the Muggleborn member of the "Golden Trio" and the heroine of the Second Wizarding War for directly participating (along with best friend, Harry Potter) in the final defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In her free time, Miss Granger enjoys reading and championing for the rights of magical creatures._

* * *

"You have your own collectible card?" he asked wonderingly as he contemplated the "heroine" part of the description. She shrugged sheepishly. "I just did what needed to be done – no more, no less," she said and then effectively changed the subject by introducing them to some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. John humored her by dropping the obviously uncomfortable subject for the time being as he sampled a variety of the candy. The particular beans that he tasted contained the flavors of spinach, blue cheese, and apple pie respectively. Then came one with a very sharp flavor that he couldn't quite identify. It reminded him strongly of the smell coming from Sherlock's refrigerator, however, and he realized then that he _really_ did not want to know what it was! All of a sudden, he was distracted from these thoughts by the face of his best friend who had blanched at a particularly intense version of what he described as "sweaty monkey." John could not help but to laugh then as Sherlock's facial expression changed from disgust to scientific intrigue. The detective scientist then proceeded to gather up several packages of the candy – presumably to experiment with later.

The group's last stop was at the shop that was formally known as Zonko's. The large colorful sign out front now read _Fred's Frivolous Follies_. A smaller line underneath described it further as "A branch of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes." John looked over at Hermione in surprise and she nodded.

"Yes! It is _those_ Weasleys. Fred and George considered opening a store here years ago while we were still in school, but then the war heated up and Fred…well…he didn't make it. George bought this store later and named it after his twin, in order to keep his legend alive for the aspiring pranksters up at Hogwarts. Ron usually runs it, though, since George spends most of his time at the original Diagon Alley store." She then turned to Sherlock. "You haven't met Ron, yet. Have you?"

"The old boyfriend?" Sherlock drawled as he glanced at John. "No, I haven't had that particular pleasure."

John looked at Hermione and raised an eyebrow, thinking about the boisterous and quidditch-loving redhead whom he had met on the previous weekend. "Old boyfriend?"

Hermione just shrugged. "We were young. We had basically been fighting a war together since we were eleven. I had lost my parents and he had lost his brother. Therefore, we were both grieving and found happiness where we could. It didn't last long, however, because we were just too different. I don't regret it, though, particularly since we were able to salvage our friendship afterwards. There's no awkwardness there, among any of us, as you can see – especially since Susan was the one who asked me to be little red Rosie's godmother. We are all _just_ family now."

John nodded, reassured by her sincerity. Plus, he understood the closeness that developed between people on the battlefield and had even experienced his own short wartime romance. Jane had been completely committed to her military career, however, and their relationship had not lasted past his injury and subsequent discharge. Therefore, he quickly decided that whatever had happened with Ron in the past was not going to be a hurdle in this…whatever it was…that he hoped was developing with Hermione.

This decision was further reinforced when he could not detect anything beyond close friendship in the greeting between Hermione and Ron after they had entered the store – even if that greeting included a kiss on the cheek. Just to be sure, however, he glanced over at Sherlock - who would have certainly observed _everything_. Reassured by the man's nod, John let go of all of his doubt and returned Ron's jovial handshake and greeting with one of his own before introducing his best friend. The detective simply nodded, however, and then wandered away to browse the contents of the store. Even though he still considered that to be a bit rude, John could not help but to be relieved that Sherlock had not slipped into his usual annoying habit of analyzing someone that he had just met. John rationalized, however, that he had probably refrained out of respect for Hermione.

It wasn't until they exited the store an hour later and John noticed the many packages that Hermione took from Sherlock and shrunk with a spell before placing them in her bag, that he realized Sherlock's silence also might have had another motive. His desire to dissect Ron's character simply in order to display his ability to do so was probably just superseded by an overwhelming need to examine his new and unusual surroundings and to get his hands on some of the very interesting products offered in this particular shop. This particular theory was further promoted when he saw Sherlock pout after a very amused Hermione explained that she would be confiscating some of his purchases until they could go through them together.

Her argument was perfectly reasonable. "Some of them, like the Extendable Ears, require magic in order to be activated, Sherlock," she told him. "Plus, do I even _want_ to know why you thought you would need some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder?"

* * *

Their day in Hogsmeade then ended at the Three Broomsticks where Hermione introduced them all to both Butterbeers and Madam Rosmerta, who had come over to their booth to serve them personally when she saw Hermione. The two women greeted each other affectionately and Hermione introduced her first to Rosie who had insisted on sitting with _her_ Miney and then to the men who sat opposite them. Hermione had to choke back her laughter at the look on John's face when Rosmerta made a comment about how nice it was to see two men raising a family together.

"We're not a couple!" he started to say, but gave up halfway through - especially since she had already left with their order. Therefore, he just shrugged and shook his head when he caught Hermione's eye and saw the amusement written all over her face. _As long as she knows the truth_ , he thought. Then he glanced at his friend, who just smirked back before he told him, "It's okay, Sweetie." Sherlock had never cared what people thought about him, one way or the other, as long as they recognized his brilliance.

"I hate you!" John grumped to his friend, causing the man to actually crack a full-fledged smile and for Hermione to give in to her losing battle of trying to hold back her laughter at his discomfiture. As the delightful sound of her mirth rung out, John could not help but to smile himself as their eyes met again. This time neither of them looked away, however. They just shared the moment (observed closely by Sherlock, of course), until they were interrupted by the arrival of the food. While they ate, their small group told entertaining and embarrassing stories about each other and laughed a lot more. Even little Rosie told a complicated story involving a butterfly, her stuffed bunny, and a sandwich that _Aunt Hudsy_ had made for her. None of the adults really understood it, but they laughed anyway…and the little girl just beamed in happiness.

* * *

All too soon, however, it was time to go. Little Rosie, with her belly full of hearty pub food and her body tired from the long eventful day, had slipped over to the other side of the table and had fallen asleep on her father's shoulder. Hermione smiled gently at the sweet sight and insisted on taking the two of them home first, so that the little one could go to sleep in her own bed. Even though John appreciated her thoughtfulness, he mourned the idea that he would not be able to have any alone time with Hermione in that case. He consoled himself with the fact that he would see her again on the next day - when they went to visit the Weasleys. She then apparated the two of them home before quickly going back to fetch Sherlock in order to deliver him to Baker Street, as well.

"After all, who knows what kind of trouble he could get into when left in a magical village all by himself," Hermione explained. The absolute truth of that statement eased John's disappointment a bit. Of course, the little goodbye kiss that she gave him that grazed the corner of his mouth might have helped, as well! In fact, that kiss distracted him so much that he did not realize until much later that he did not get nauseous _at all_ on the trip back home this time.


	7. Closer Together

The next several weeks passed by quickly and Hermione, John, and Rosie settled into an unspoken routine of spending Saturdays together. Since they could easily apparate all over Great Britain, they experienced everything from a completely muggle day of fun at Blackpool, to a mystical day at Tintagel in Cornwall, to a magical day in Ireland where they met real leprechauns (who were actually quite jolly little fellows when nobody tried to steal their gold). Throughout it all, Hermione and John grew increasingly closer and the three of them were often confused for a happy couple and their child when they were all out together. It warmed John's heart when Hermione did not automatically correct those who made this assumption, and she could not help but to notice fondly that he did not rush to set them straight, either.

Sometimes Sherlock even joined them for their adventures. When he did not, they made a point of turning up at Baker Street for tea before they went home. In this way, Hermione also officially made the acquaintance of Mrs. Hudson – even though she had occasionally glimpsed the woman on earlier discreet visits to the flat when she and Sherlock worked on cases together. At any rate, Hermione was introduced to the kindly landlady as Rosie's tutor. Even though Rosie was a bit young for such an arrangement, that title was not really far from the truth. Therefore, it turned out to be a convenient way to explain things in a way that would not breach the Statute of Secrecy. Mrs. Hudson was a shrewd woman, however, and knew that they were not telling her the entire truth. After all, even though she had never seen the pretty young woman arrive or depart the upstairs flat, she clearly remembered coming across her sound asleep there on several previous occasions in the last few years (once on the sofa, once in John's old room, and even once in Sherlock's bed) apparently after being out with her wayward tenant all night long doing who-knows-what. However, she also knew that both of her boys had a taste for danger - and that apparently included the women in their lives, as well. Even she, the little old landlady, had a questionable past that inspired her to be far more lenient with her tenant than anyone else would be! Therefore, Mrs. Hudson did not mention the previous encounters and made a point to get to know the girl on her own merit – without any preconceived notions. After the first time that they all took tea together, when the two occupants of 221B were alone again, the older woman declared Hermione to be delightful and exactly what John and little Rosie needed! After all, it was obvious that the two of them already adored her – and that she returned their feelings. This was a statement to which even Sherlock had to acquiesce – especially since he had known what would eventually happen from the moment he introduced his two closest friends to each other.

* * *

Part of every Sunday was also spent at the Burrow where both John and his Rosie had quickly become honorary Weasleys. To everyone's delight, little yellow Rosie formed an instant and close friendship with both little red Rosie and Albus. John, meanwhile, became great friends with all of the Weasley men and Harry - but most especially Arthur. Their unique friendship began when John presented Arthur with a brand new padlock and key set on his second visit to the Burrow. He remembered that Hermione had mentioned that the older man was really interested in them and she was right. The simple gift was ecstatically received. After that, John would often sit with the Weasley patriarch, while Hermione was busy doing other things - such as playing in her otter form with the children at the Weasley's pond. He would patiently answer all of the older man's insatiable questions about the Muggle world. At the same time, however, Arthur repaid the favor and taught him about the magical world. Consequently, John learned about magical history, wizarding politics, and even the mysteries that surrounded Hermione. One Sunday in particular, when Hermione had to leave the Burrow early in order to work on an emergency case, Arthur was the one who finally enlightened John about her real role in the war and the sacrifices that she had made – even at such a young age. Arthur was a very perceptive man – especially when it came to matters of the heart. He had counseled his own large brood through way too many romances for him not to be. Therefore, he could easily see the way his adopted daughter and this man felt about each other. Arthur knew that she was too modest to do it herself, but he felt that John should know – and appreciate - exactly the kind of woman Hermione was. Therefore, while sipping tea in the garden and watching the children play, they talked about the years of prejudice that Hermione had experienced because of her blood status, her struggle to prove herself through academics (and to keep the boys reasonably successful in school, as well), and how she gave up _everything_ (including her parents) to help Harry…and the rest of the wizarding world in the process. John left that conversation even more full of awe and admiration for the woman than he had been before – which was certainly saying something!

Hermione still had not returned by that night, so Harry ended up taking John and Rosie home. After the little girl went to bed, Harry stayed late and took the opportunity to introduce John to Firewhiskey. He agreed with Arthur that John should know exactly what he was getting into with his best friend. Therefore, he had brought a bottle of the good stuff with him and had a feeling that both of them were going to need it before the night, and their subsequent discussion, was over. Consequently, in the process of getting completely hammered, he filled John in on some of the details that even Arthur did not know. He told him about all of the times that Hermione had helped him or even saved his life – everything from the sorcerer's stone gauntlet during their first year at school to the Triwizard Tournament to all of the terrible things that happened during their year on the run. He even admitted to John about the fact that Hermione had become an Auror with him simply because the habit of her taking care of him had been too hard for either of them to break. However, it soon became obvious that the job was not enough of a challenge for her and that she was bored. Afraid that they would eventually lose her altogether, both Harry and the Minister of Magic himself then encouraged her to become a freelance special investigator instead. That way she would be able to take the cases that interested her, use her intellectual abilities in a far more fulfilling capacity, and still be able to do contract work with the Auror and Ministry, as well, whenever they needed her considerable skills and knowledge. With the Minister himself backing her decision, she finally found her niche in Magical Law Enforcement. This arrangement also freed up time for her to do more of the work that she was passionate about – such as working towards the rights of magical creatures and assisting with the transitions of Muggleborns into magical society. Additionally, through her new position, she eventually met the Holmes brothers, and became the only MLE official, besides Harry, to be sanctioned to actually work with the few Muggles who were in a position to be exceptions to the Statute of Secrecy. Hence the combined cases with Sherlock…and, consequently, her introduction to his own best friend, John.

John listened to Harry's incredible narrative and marveled about the woman who was so special to both of them. Now that he had heard the stories, it was quite obvious why she was considered a heroine in the magical world. Throughout it all, though, he could not help but to notice that the Harry's version of events was obviously tinged with a hint of warning, as well. Hermione had always been there for Harry. Now Harry was making it clear to John that he would always be there for her, too – no matter what or _whom_ – happened to be in her life. John had no problems with that (since he felt that way about his best friend, as well) and only hoped that one day he would be in a position where he would be allowed to be that protective of the fascinating woman, as well. However, as his mind grew increasingly fuzzy because of the strong liquor, John became far less cautious than usual. Therefore, his defenses broke down and he attempted to make his feelings about Hermione clear to Harry as they worked their way through the rest of the bottle. It was only afterwards, early the next morning when he woke up on his sofa with the worst hangover of his life, that he realized that his drunken confession must have been Harry's goal all along. He was well familiar with that type of strategy since it was exactly what Sherlock would have done, as well. Consequently, he grimaced with both pain _and_ embarrassment as he forced himself to prepare for the day.

* * *

A short while later, Hermione made a surprise visit to John's surgery – and was directed to his office by the good-natured older woman at the front desk whose eyes twinkled with the sudden happy knowledge of who this pretty young woman must be to the doctor. After slipping into the indicated room quietly, Hermione smiled indulgently at the sight of him sitting at his desk with his head in his hands – obviously suffering from the aftereffects of way too much Firewhiskey.

"Hello," she said as he looked up quickly in surprise at seeing her there before he groaned in pain at the sudden movement. She laughed quietly and handed him a small vial. When he eyed it uncertainly, she smiled. "Trust me," she said. "It is my own special blend of Sober Up and Mental Clarity potions… and I brewed it myself. Ginny floo-called me this morning and told me that even Harry was in a state, so I knew that you were probably worse off – especially since you had never experienced Firewhiskey before. Therefore, I grabbed one of these out of my stash and came right over. Now drink it up and I promise that you will feel better."

John, the responsible doctor, did not normally take any unknown substances. However, he trusted Hermione and he was exceptionally eager to rid himself of the terrible hangover. Therefore, he tipped the vial back and downed its contents. He was shocked to realize that he felt more like himself by the time that he set the little container back on his desk. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "That's amazing! What's in it?"

Hermione smirked mischievously as she replied, "Just a whole lot of magical ingredients that I gathered while dancing naked in a forest glade under the full moon."

Now that his pain was gone and he could think clearly again, just the thought of such a scenario suddenly set John on fire. This was especially true since the last few weeks in her company and all of the information that he had recently learned from Arthur and Harry had only served to increase his already intense attraction to the witch. Consequently, his mouth went dry at that moment while he held the image in his mind and he found that he couldn't speak. "Um…" was all that he could manage.

Hermione laughed again. "I'm just kidding, John – at least about the naked dancing part. I was only topless." She winked to let him know that she was still joking, but John still had to repress his very physical reaction at the thought of her being "only topless" as his mind jumped from her dancing in a forest that way to lying on the desk in front of him with a come-hither look instead. He barely held back his groan at the thought of it. Her wicked sense of humor was going to kill him. He was certain of it. He had to fiercely push the thought away, however, as she came around to his side of the desk to perch on the edge of it and when she reached over to brush some of his unkempt hair back off of his forehead. He had been feeling too poorly that morning to do more than give it a haphazard stroke or two with the brush – especially since he had to get Rosie ready, as well. However, the feeling of her hand against his face felt wonderful and he reached up to grab it with his own. He just held it for a moment while they simply looked at each other. They had experienced several of these little moments in the past couple of weeks…but he wanted more...so much more. He wanted to show her exactly how he felt about her, but he just was not sure how – especially now since he was afraid that he had already drunkenly blurted out his true feelings to her best friend.

"Well, if you are feeling better, then I should probably let you get back to work," she said softly as she unintentionally interrupted his reverie.

He did not want her to leave, but he knew that he had a full day of appointments to handle. "Thank you so much," he replied accordingly and squeezed her hand in gratitude. "I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the day. You're a lifesaver. I wasn't even aware that I had drunk so much, though – especially since I don't normally drink at all on a work night."

"Don't worry about it, John. Firewhiskey can sneak up on you like that. Harry should have warned you. Really! I don't know what he was thinking! Do I even want to know what you guys were talking about so intently that the two most responsible men I know lost track of how much alcohol they were consuming?"

John looked down at the hand that he was still holding and then back up into its owner's beautiful brown eyes. He realized now how private she was about her achievements - _and_ her past pain. Thus, he knew that she would not want to discuss the things that he had learned about her life from Arthur and Harry, so he just answered her simply and honestly. "You," he said and admired the attractive blush that suddenly bloomed across her features. Then he boldly kissed the back of the hand that he held and looked back up at her. She squeezed his hand and smiled. Before either of them could say anything, though, a sudden knock at the door broke the spell. The nurse entered to announce the arrival of a patient, but eyed their close positions and clasped hands interestedly before she left. When the door closed behind her, Hermione spoke quietly again.

"I guess that I really do need to go so you can get on with the important work of healing," she said. "I do so admire a man whose goal it is to save lives, you know!" she added honestly and looked at him with eyes full of admiration. That surprised and pleased him, but not nearly as much as when she suddenly leaned forward to brush a feather light kiss across his lips. "Goodbye, John. I will see you on Saturday, if not before, okay?" Before he could answer, she then turned and left the office herself, leaving a dumbfounded John still sitting at his desk. However, he found that he just could not stop the smile that immediately threatened to take over his face, nor could he stop smiling for the rest of the day – not even when he saw the knowing grins that passed between the nurse and receptionist.

* * *

After Hermione's surprise visit to the surgery (and the even more surprising sweet kiss), John found that he could not keep his mind off of the lovely witch and he could not wait to see her again. Despite this, he still attempted to sort out Rosie's next bit of accidental magic by himself and resisted the temptation to call in the expert immediately – no matter how much he wanted to. However, by the time he literally stumbled over the third cat, John finally gave in and grabbed his mobile. He had put Hermione on speed dial weeks before and only had to push one key and wait for one ring before she answered. "I'm so sorry to bother you," he said quickly, "but I keep finding cats everywhere - all over the house - and they are driving me crazy. I don't know how Rosie is bringing them in and I just can't seem to catch them. Do you think that you can help?"

Hermione laughed heartily at his predicament before she agreed to come over and assist. "It's no bother. Let me pop home and recruit some help. Then I will be right there," she said and he could practically hear the smile in her tone. That made him smile, as well, even when a fourth cat crossed his path in order to disappear up the stairs.

Much sooner than he expected, she was on his doorstep. She wasn't alone, however. In her arms, she carried a large, and extremely fluffy, orange and black cat. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought my friend, Emma Shanks. She's three-quarters kneazle and is extremely intelligent. Her father was only half-kneazle and he was the smartest animal I had ever met up to that point. I loved him dearly, but his daughter is something else entirely. She said that she could take care of your little problem for you - if you would let her." With those words, she set down her feline friend and watched the cat run out of the room as if she was on a mission.

"She said…? What? You mean that you can talk to animals?" John asked in disbelief – even though he thought nothing else would ever be able to surprise him when it came to this woman.

"Only when I am in my otter form," she replied casually, as if the skill was just a little unimportant detail. "Now watch!" She reached over to pat his hand and then covered it with her own smaller one. Her touch felt nice, and he daringly adjusted their positions so that their fingers intertwined. Hermione looked up at him with both pleasure and surprise twinkling in her eyes. However, before she had a chance to comment, Emma Shanks came back into the room leading a line of no less than seven cats in a variety of genders, sizes, and colors. John regretfully let go of Hermione's hand as he rushed to open the door to let them all out. He breathed a sigh of relief, however, when the last furry tail cleared the doorway.

"Thank you, Emma Shanks!" he said as the large cat returned and he realized with some surprise that he didn't feel foolish for talking to her. He even reached down to pet her, even though he did not normally consider himself to be a cat person. She accepted his touch with grace for just a moment before stalking off to groom herself – as if he had soiled her. _And that is why I have never liked cats_ , he thought ironically as he shut the door again and locked it.

Just then Rosie rushed into the room. "Miney," she cried out excitedly and climbed into Hermione's lap without hesitation. John then watched fondly as Hermione held his daughter and explained to her why she could not let all of the neighborhood cats come in. She also bargained that she would bring her really smart kitty over to play with her if Rosie would agree to keep the others outside where they belonged. The little girl nodded her head with an adorably solemn look on her face before jumping down and rushing over to Emma to pet the cat all over. John watched their interaction intently until it was plain that neither of them was going to hurt the other one. When Rosie picked up Emma to take her upstairs, John went to say something, but instead had to laugh at the long-suffering face that the cat made before shooting a demanding look over at her human. Hermione also laughed before addressing what was clearly a challenge.

"Yes, Emma Shanks, you will definitely get some tuna tonight!" With those words, John watched, amazed, as the cat relaxed her body completely and let the toddler carry her up the stairs to attend a tea party with the stuffed lion and other various dolls and teddies.

"Smart cat, indeed!" he muttered before going to make some real tea for his guest, as well. Just as he returned, handed her a mug, and sat down next to her on the sofa, his mobile beeped. "Excuse me for a minute while I check this – just in case it is about a patient," he requested. John quickly read the message and his brow puckered with confusion. He looked back up at Hermione. "That was from Sherlock," he said. "He said to _Tell Hermione to go ahead and do it!_ What exactly does he want you to do?"

Hermione just sighed. "He's a right pain in the arse sometimes, isn't he?" she asked and John laughed. He certainly could not argue with that statement and Hermione smiled at his obvious amusement before continuing. "I talked to him right before I came over here, you know. He advised me to just go ahead and seduce you."

"Wh…what?" John stammered in surprise after he managed to choke back the tea he had just swallowed.

Amused by his reaction, she flashed her beautiful grin at him. "Well, after I told him how much I have grown to care about you, he informed me that you were too much of a gentleman and tended to have too many second thoughts to be able to make the first move yourself. Hence the seduction suggestion."

"I…um…" John was flustered until her words actually sank in. "Wait a minute…did you just say you care about me?" This time she didn't answer him. She let her actions speak for themselves, instead. She took the cup of tea out of his hand, set it on the table, and then leaned over. First she stroked his cheek affectionately and then her lips met his. Her kiss was gentle at first and after a moment of disbelief, _Hermione is actually kissing me!,_ his brain finally kicked in and started to work _with_ his body instead of against it. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply - exactly the way he had wanted to practically since the moment they had met. Her hands crept around to grip his surprisingly muscular back and his slipped up to fist in her lively curls. Their kiss increased in intensity until they had to pull apart to breathe. They rested their foreheads together and John couldn't stop the grin that took over his face. "You know," he said mischievously. "I think that Sherlock was right. Perhaps you _should_ seduce me."

"I thought that I already had," she said with a cheeky grin and he growled a little with appreciation as she pulled his lips back down to hers.

"I want kisses, too!" exclaimed little Rosie, who was suddenly standing right next to them. They had been so distracted by each other that neither John nor Hermione had heard the little girl or the cat, who also stood there staring at them, come down the stairs and into the room with them.

In fact, John, who had been sitting on the edge of the seat, was so startled by the unexpected interruption that he immediately fell off of the sofa in surprise and Hermione laughed joyfully at the sheepish expression on his face as he lay sprawled on the floor. She then gathered up his giggling daughter and covered her cheeks in kisses while he watched in fatherly delight as the woman who was stealing his heart also stole his daughter's, as well. He then knew that if he had not been before, he was definitely a lost man now. Hermione was the woman for him. He knew that he was right when he saw her look at him deviously and then whisper something in Rosie's ear. Then both of his girls launched themselves at him and covered his face with kisses, too. Meanwhile, Emma Shanks just sat there and twitched her tail while she wondered when the silly humans were going to do something useful - like fetch her promised tuna.


	8. Steps to Happiness

John and Hermione's relationship progressed rapidly after that night - despite the fact that they had not moved beyond passionate kisses and longing touches. However, a couple of weeks later, the chance finally came for them to take their intimacy to the next level when Ginny asked permission for little yellow Rosie to spend the weekend with her, baby Lily, and Albus in order to keep him company while his big brother went with Harry and Ron to the European Quidditch Cup game (the winner of which would go on to the World Cup). Even though John liked the Potters very much, he was a little reluctant to agree to this scheme at first. However, that was only because Rosie had only occasionally stayed overnight with one of her godmothers whenever John helped Sherlock with a late-night case. He did not have to be a psychologist to know that he was being overprotective and that he attempted to keep his daughter close to him as a way to compensate for her mother's absence in her life.

He soon realized, however, that his agreement to this plan meant that he and Hermione would then be free to spend the entire weekend alone together. That intriguing thought caused a surge of longing and arousal that completely overtook the small amount of parental guilt that he felt for even thinking about leaving Rosie with someone else. After all, he knew that she would be well cared for and would have lots of fun with Albus. Plus, who knew when he and Hermione would have this chance again? There was no downside to the situation.

Hermione felt the same way. With a surge of excitement, she knew that the time had finally come to take the next step in their relationship…and she was so ready. John, with his warm personality and casual good looks, had taken up residence in her heart almost immediately upon meeting him. After getting to know him better, she also realized that there was so much more to him…and she wanted it _all!_

Therefore, they both tried to contain their nervous anticipation as they dropped off Rosie at Grimmauld Place. Without a backwards glance, the little girl immediately ran off happily to make a pillow fort with Albus in the library. Therefore, Hermione and John said their goodbyes to Ginny - who unceremoniously threw them out with some good natured encouragement.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Now go have some child-free, completely adult fun!" she said with a knowing smirk that caused the faces of the other two to flush slightly as their redheaded friend shooed them away.

Back in the entryway, Hermione wrapped her arms around John and he reciprocated without prompting. A combination of nerves and desire was written all over the man's face and she just had to smile because she knew that look was probably mirrored on her own visage, as well. Hence, Hermione wasted no time and apparated with him straight to her flat. He had been there a few times, in between adventures, but Rosie had always been with him. They had never had the chance to be alone there before. However, even though she could tell that he wanted her, she also knew that he was a bit apprehensive, as well…and she thought that being at her place for their first time together in that way would help. After all, he had not been with anybody else since his late wife's death and she worried that being in the same house…and the same bed…that he had shared with Mary might be too awkward for him. Hence, the plan to stay at her place simply seemed to be the best arrangement to solve that problem.

Hermione was concerned, as well, since John had yet to see (besides a glimpse here and there) of exactly what the war had done to her physically. However, once they arrived at the normal apparation spot in her lounge area, she did not give either of them a chance to second guess the situation. They had waited too long for that! She just kissed him passionately until neither one of them were able to think straight at all, and then pulled him into her bedroom. There she summoned up all the confidence that she could muster and magicked off most of her clothing. She then stood there in front of him, clad only in her bra and knickers. "This is me," she said simply and hoped against hope that he could accept her – scars and all.

John felt such an immediate rush of arousal at seeing Hermione almost completely and wondrously nude in front of him that it almost took his breath away. However, at a glance, the doctor in him also saw the horrific and permanent reminders of her past stretched across her torso, scattered over her neck and shoulders, and carved into her arm. His heart ached to realize how much she must have suffered back then, both physically and emotionally, in order to be so marked now. After all, he had already heard the stories from both Arthur and Harry. It also hurt him to see the normally confident woman of his dreams feeling insecure and concerned that he would not find her attractive. _As if that could happen!_ he thought. _Not when I want her so much that I can barely breathe._ Therefore, he rushed to reassure her as he eagerly wrapped his arms around her. The moment he touched her, his up-to-then repressed desire overwhelmed him. "You are _beautiful_!" he exclaimed both honestly and reassuringly before he proceeded to show her just how much he meant it as the rest of their clothing was quickly removed and they tumbled onto the bed together.

…

In the pleasant aftermath of their lovemaking, they laid in each other's arms - happy, fulfilled, and relaxed. Hermione took that time to finally tell him the story behind each and every one of her scars – even though she was aware that he already knew about most of them. Then he returned the favor as he showed her his gunshot wound, some shrapnel and fighting scars, as well as an old knife wound and even a few shiny burn marks. They were all physical reminders of both his own war, as well as some of his more eventful adventures with their mutual and danger-prone friend. This process of sharing such personal information left the two of them feeling even more connected to each other than before. Consequently, when they made love for the second time that night, they made sure to pay homage to every mark and scar on each other's bodies as they thoroughly explored such exciting new territory.

…

As their eyes met over coffee the next morning, John reveled in Hermione's immediate bright smile and was relieved that there was no awkwardness between them. In fact, he felt happier and more at peace than he had for a long time – with very little of the guilt that he thought such a moment would bring. The previous night had been wonderful and it was obviously a definitive moment for their relationship. He had loved waking up next to her in the morning and had just watched her for several moments as he looked past the scarred exterior and marveled about what an amazing woman Hermione was…and he knew without a doubt how lucky he was, as well. He also already knew that this was definitely not going to be a one night stand for them. They were already too close for that and he was in it for the long term. He was fairly certain that she felt the same way, too, and a soft, warm feeling engulfed him at the very thought of a future with Hermione. Nevertheless, as he looked at the lovely woman who sat across from him at the small table with a fluffy cat in her lap, he also felt that there was just one more thing that he really needed to know before they could move on completely. Consequently, he finally summoned up the courage to ask the question that had been on his mind since the first time he had met the intriguing witch while in the company of his best friend.

"You and Sherlock?" he asked. He knew that his timing for such a question was not ideal, but he could not help but to wonder if they had ever experienced such a glorious "morning after" like this.

Hermione just sighed as she set down her cup, but she was not really surprised. In fact, she had honestly expected this question much sooner. John had never asked, though, and it almost felt as if he did not really want to know for sure. After the incredible night that they had just spent together, however, she knew exactly what had changed. He felt that he needed to know _everything_ before they could move forward…and she could not fault him for that. She knew that she wanted a future with the wonderful man sitting at her table in a pair of transfigured pajamas…and she was almost positive that he felt the same way about her. Therefore, she was blatantly honest with him.

"John, you have to remember that when I met Sherlock, it was in a life or death situation. I barely managed to disarm and incapacitate the men in time before they killed him. Then we had to fight our way out of there. When Dolohov came to investigate, Sherlock protected me from the others while I dueled the dangerous wizard – the one who had already almost killed me once - before I was able to subdue him. I saw Sherlock take down at least two men to save me then – even though he was still reeling from the discovery that I was a witch. Needless to say, that does something to a girl and when it was all over, the adrenaline was running high. You are a doctor, John. You know what physical effects that can arise in such a situation…and I think that you also know that Sherlock is brilliant, brave, _and_ handsome. He is a very desirable man." She said all of this in a very matter-of-fact way and John could only nod at her frankness. He had suspected as much, but the truth still stung a little. However, as he looked across the table into Hermione's eyes, he decided that it just did not matter. _Whatever had happened between her and Sherlock was in the past and_ …John's reverie was interrupted here by the sound of her quiet little snort, a cross between laughter and self-derision, before she continued. "To make a long embarrassing story much shorter, John…" Here she paused again and looked a little sheepish. "I…um…offered, but he…declined."

John was floored! That was not what he had expected to hear. He looked directly in her eyes as he asked in disbelief, "Sherlock turned _you_ down?" At her little wry nod of acknowledgement, John snorted. "And I used to think that man was a genius? He is obviously an idiot!"

Hermione laughed heartily at that. "Well, I am certainly glad that _you_ think so – especially in light of what happened last night," she answered. The unexpected reference to their pleasurable activities on the previous evening combined with the obvious smolder now present in her eyes sent a heated jolt to the core of his body before he realized that she had actually continued on with her story. "However, this is Sherlock that we are talking about," she said. "You know exactly how he is. He told me that he was honored and gave me some speech about being married to his work, etc." John unintentionally interrupted here with another snort of laughter at the familiar words. After all, he had heard them himself during their very first case together while they were on the stakeout at Angelo's, and told her so. Hermione just smiled knowingly before she continued. "Despite my disappointment then, I thought that maybe he just wasn't into girls…or sex…or whatever. He was a very difficult man to understand, you know, so I just could not tell back then – even though I am a lot better at reading him now. Despite the fact that he did not seem to want me in that way, though, he did not seem eager to get rid of me, either. In fact, he immediately asked for my assistance on another case. Therefore, I tried not let his polite rejection bother me further…and the rest is history."

She was quiet for a moment before she told him what else she thought he needed to realize about the relationship that she shared with Sherlock. "Now, of course, I know him better and I am extremely grateful that nothing happened back at the beginning. He is a good man and I adore him. However, I honestly think I would have killed him at some point by now - if we had been romantically involved. He is just so damn…frustrating…most of the time. Consequently, when the hormones stopped clouding my judgement and I was able to think logically again, I eventually realized that was exactly why he did not allow anything to happen between us in the first place. He knew how it would be. As cliché as it sounds, he simply liked me and respected me too much to become my lover."

She paused again and John thought about what she had just said - especially when he remembered that Sherlock had admitted that Hermione was too good for him. _Yes! That explains so much about his relationship with Hermione…and Molly…and even Irene, as well_. He reflected back on Sherlock's interactions with the women. _He denies himself their love, so that he can keep their friendships…so that he can keep them in his life. He realizes that he is too complicated…too difficult...too dangerous to be successful in any other kind of long term relationship with them. That's the real reason he proclaims to be immune to sentiment! That is also why he was able to be with Janine. She did not mean anything to him. She was just a means to an end!_ That epiphany made John rather sad for his friend, but he completely understood the probable truth in such convoluted logic, as well.

His attention was soon claimed by Hermione again when she continued her explanation with a mischievous look. "Now, I consider that wonderful yet extremely annoying man to be my best friend, you know," she explained. "He is right up there next to Harry and Ron. I also believe that he considers me as his…next to you, of course!" she exclaimed as she dislodged Emma Shanks when she stood up to walk over to his side of the table. As she slid into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, John could only grin in relief at her attitude towards the whole situation. He would not have let a past romance – even one that included Sherlock - come between them, but he had to admit that he was much happier that it was a non-issue.

Hermione was not quite finished, though. "In the spirit of full disclosure, however, I should tell you that Sherlock and I have kissed - and he is _very_ good at it. We have slept together in the same bed - and believe it or not, he _is_ a snuggler. We have also seen each other naked and I believe that I have already told you my thoughts about his attractive backside. How he feels about mine, though, I just could not tell you…and I suspect that he won't, either." At these words, John leaned back and quirked a questioning eyebrow at her. She just shrugged and then laughed. "Working with him has demanded all of those things at one time or the other. You, of all people, should know the kind of crazy situations that he gets into!" John found that he could not argue with that and he thought about it for another moment until he realized that he just had to ask one more question.

"I could understand the kissing to maintain your cover and possibly the sleeping together, as well. However, why in the world would _you_ have had to be naked – especially if there was no…um…physical stuff…going on?" he asked, puzzled…and quite a bit jealous, as well – even though that would explain why Sherlock had not been shocked by the sight of her scars.

Hermione just laughed. " _That_ would be Sherlock's fault, as usual!" she exclaimed ruefully. "Let's just say that one of those times involved a murky pond and leeches…and it was before I became an animagus and could turn into an otter in order to easily swim through it. Ugh! That's _all_ I want to say about that!" She shivered in remembered disgust and John could not help but to grin again, glad to know that he was not the only one to get into those kind of scrapes with the trouble-magnet detective. Friendship with a man like Sherlock certainly could be very intense sometimes. He was distracted from those thoughts, however, when Hermione kissed him again. He was soon reminded of how _intense_ things could get with her, as well.

* * *

The new physical and intimate aspect of their relationship brought Hermione and John even closer together. They started to spend more evenings and nights together, as well as their normal weekends...and they became even more integrated into each other's lives. Thus, John soon met even more members of the magical world – especially after Hermione used her contacts to start the Muggleborn Acclimation Initiative, or MAI, as it soon became known to the wizarding world. That was a much better acronym than SPEW, as Harry and Ron had pointed out repeatedly until a few well placed stinging hexes stopped that teasing rather quickly.

The goal of the MAI was to intervene when a Muggleborn child first began to display magic and to acclimatize the families to the idea of magic and the wizarding world early. That would be accomplished by assigning them to a willing host family who would introduce them to all things magical, just like Hermione had with John and Rosie. Since the program was cost efficient, relied almost entirely on volunteers rather than Ministry funding, and promoted the outlook of his administration, Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt gave the MAI the official stamp of approval immediately and placed Hermione in charge of the entire program. He even provided Hermione and the MAI with an official office in the ministry in order to show his enthusiastic support for the initiative.

The numbers of the Muggleborn population were relatively low and only a few Muggleborn students entered Hogwarts each year. Therefore, the program became a huge success when the MAI turned out to have even more volunteer Wizarding families than it could use – even when all members of the current Muggleborn population up to and including the current Hogwarts students were also assigned. Hermione was especially proud of the fact that some of the ones who offered to help were the pureblood families who had managed to stay out of Voldemort's clutches during the war and even some of those who had been coerced by threats or spells into joining his group of henchman. She really felt that this helped the MAI prove there was hope now that blood prejudice could be conquered for good!

There were other possible advantages to the program, as well. Arthur had even suggested slyly to John that the MAI might help to bring some much needed new blood into the wizarding world when more muggle and wizarding couples came together…just like he and Hermione had. The older wizard then laughed and clapped his muggle friend on the shoulder when the younger man flushed hotly at the implication and at the idea of having children with the lovely witch who had stolen his heart. It was certainly a thought provoking concept - especially when he considered how close the two of them had become. It was clearly too soon to think about such things, however, and so he forced it to the back of his mind. It refused to stay there, though, and often popped up to be considered – especially whenever he watched Hermione play with his daughter or on those nights when he was lucky enough to drift off to sleep with her in his arms.

One other benefit of the MAI was that John made some new friends - like Dean Thomas. Since Dean had been raised as a Muggle, (and had suffered as a Muggleborn under Voldemort's reign even though he was technically a half blood) he straddled both worlds as easily as Hermione did. Therefore, he had agreed to work with her on the project along with Harry, and a few others who had been raised in the Muggle world before being thrown, unassisted and unknowledgeable, into the deep end of the wizarding world. They had all been inspired by Hermione's intervention with the Watson family and had decided to take it a step further and offer to help themselves. Therefore, Dean was around frequently and he and John hit it off immediately. They had a lot in common - especially since Dean had trained as a Healer after Hogwarts and they were both fans of the West Ham football team. In fact, they often watched the matches together even when Hermione was not around. Also, wherever Dean went, Seamus Finnegan soon followed. Since the boisterous Irishman was a half-blooded wizard whose father and wife were both Muggles, he was also very comfortable in John's company and in muggle society. John welcomed the new larger circle of friends enthusiastically since he had not realized just how isolated he and Rosie had become after Mary's death. Sherlock was still his best mate, but it was nice to have other blokes around, too, especially since the detective was often too busy and/or unwilling to socialize.

In fact, since Dean was now the only single man of their acquaintance (besides the enigmatic detective who had forsworn all forms of romance), Hermione and John soon set him up with Molly Hooper. Hermione had met Rosie's other godmother over tea with Mrs. Hudson right after she and John had officially started dating. She had embraced Molly as an old friend after hearing about everything that the woman had done for both John and Sherlock over the years. The two of them became close while bonding over tea, Rosie, and funny stories about the Baker Street boys. After several subsequent meetings with the personable and intelligent woman, Hermione also realized that Molly had a hard time moving past the unrequited torch that she had apparently always carried for Sherlock. Hermione completely understood…from her own past dealings with the detective…so she was soon inspired to set Molly up with her fellow Gryffindor, instead.

To everyone's delight, Molly and Dean hit it off immediately - especially since they also had a lot in common with their backgrounds in the medical field. Plus, it turned out that in a happy coincidence, Seamus's wife, Anne, had lived in the same neighborhood as Molly at one time and they had even played together as children. Therefore, Molly fit into that group's little circle as easily as she did John's (and now Hermione's). Consequently, it was not long before Dean and Molly's relationship became so serious that she was soon in on the big magical secret, too! Molly took it very well – especially once she realized that not only was Dean magical, but so was Hermione, Seamus, that entire delightfully enthusiastic redheaded family, and even her own goddaughter, as well.

Everyone was thrilled at the new development – except for Sherlock. He still preferred to have a small intimate circle of friends, rather than what he called a "party." To him, that term apparently covered any gathering that included more than three people. However, it was obvious that he grudgingly approved of the relationship between Molly and Dean when the whole group stopped by to meet Mrs. Hudson - even though he subsequently (and ultimately unsuccessfully) tried to ban Seamus from all further visits to the Baker Street residence after he accidently exploded one of Sherlock's experiments-in-progress.

"Just like old times!" a grinning Hermione said to Dean, who laughed heartily, while a sheepish Seamus magicked up the mess.

"Don't worry about it, mate." John reassured Seamus. "Sherlock is just upset because he wasn't able to get it to explode first." He then laughed as Sherlock shot daggers at him with his eyes. It wasn't often that he got one up on the detective.

* * *

As the months flew by, John realized more and more what a huge impact that Hermione had made on his life. He was constantly amazed that his mostly quiet life with just his daughter, her godmothers, and Sherlock had expanded so rapidly and had become so enriched by this new world that Hermione had introduced to him. His daughter loved her, his friends loved her…and he loved her, as well. She had brought something back into his life that he had never seriously thought that he would ever have again…and so much more, as well. She truly brought magic, in every sense of the word, to his existence and he never wanted to let her go!

Therefore, one day, he made a journey to the same cemetery where he had once said goodbye to Sherlock. There he sat down next to Mary's grave and had a long talk with the memory of his deceased wife. The sky was overcast and gloomy when he arrived. Before he left, however, the clouds had parted and the sun shone down on him brightly. He felt that it was a sign of Mary's approval and he left the cemetery with both a lightened heart and the knowledge that he did not have to forget the past in order to look forward to the future. He knew then for a fact that he was ready to move on to the next major step of his life.

…

True to form, however, Sherlock interrupted his first proposal attempt when he arrived abruptly to drag Hermione away on a murder case in which he felt sure that magic was involved. It did not help that the detective turned out to be correct and the two of them spent the next several days in pursuit of the former low ranking revenge-seeking Death Eater who had somehow managed to escape justice after the war. Once they had located the elusive criminal and turned him over to Harry, however, John was able to try again. This time, John made certain that Sherlock knew in advance _not_ to show up on the important night. Therefore, he was finally able to sink down on one knee in front of Hermione and say to the woman that he loved, "I would very much like for there to be _two_ witches in my family. Will you marry me?"

The tears of happiness in her eyes as she launched herself at him in order to kiss him senseless was all the answer that he needed!


	9. Epilogue

Eight years later…

John and Hermione Granger-Watson stood on Platform 9 ¾ to wave goodbye to their daughter. She waved back excitedly while pressed up against the window of the compartment that she was sharing with her best friend, the not-so-little-anymore red Rosie.

"We are going to get so many owls about those two, mate!" Ron exclaimed after he walked over to clap John on the shoulder.

"I'm not sure if even a magical castle can handle those two girls." John replied and he could not help but to laugh knowing what a handful the two headstrong Rosies could be…and that was when magic was _not_ involved on a regular basis. He could only imagine what life was going to be like when it was!

"That's alright. Albus will help keep them in line." Harry commented when he joined them, after having a little heartfelt chat with his nervous youngest son. "It's hard to believe that _my_ son is actually the responsible one of that little group." They all watched as the boy joined his cousins and best friends in the carriage – only to be smothered in hugs by the girls. The three of them had been inseparable ever since the first time little yellow Rosie had met them at the Burrow all those years ago - and now they were all starting their first year at Hogwarts together.

"The new Golden Trio," Hermione sighed. "If they get into even half the amount of the trouble that we did…"

"It's going to be a very interesting year for poor old Headmistress McGonagall!" Harry finished the statement for her and they all laughed.

Just then Ginny walked up to them holding the hands of two other little girls. The youngest, a curly-haired brunette, ran up to John.

"Daddy, Daddy, the train is leaving!" little Jeanie exclaimed as he picked her up in a big swinging hug. Then the Granger-Watsons, Potters, and Weasleys all watched together as the Hogwarts Express steamed out of the station.

John waved to his Rosie one last time before he pulled his wife close when he saw her wipe a little tear from her eye. Then he kissed his youngest daughter on the nose, grateful that he still had a few years left before he would have to watch her leave on the same train.

"Remind me to thank Sherlock, will you?" he whispered happily to his wife, who looked at him questioningly. "He introduced us, didn't he?" he explained. "How else would I have gotten so lucky as to have _three_ witches in the family?" Hermione's only reply was to flash that same beaming smile at him that had attracted him from the very beginning. Then she kissed him tenderly and he realized that he could not be happier to have been so bewitched by her in the first place.


End file.
